Sasuke Uchiha and Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
by CursedMadScientist
Summary: Sasuke Uchiha recently discovered he is a wizard and is send to Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardly. Upon entering the magical world he discovers a great ordeal about his heritage, prejudice, corruption and the dark side that is slowly rising from the ashes. Together with friends he fights for the wizarding world. #HogwartsAU #NaruSasuNaru
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1 "The Man In the Mask"**

In a small dusty old office, Sasuke Uchiha was sitting in the chair adjacent to an old man going by the name of Gerald Gredwood but was preferably called: principle Gredwood. He was a man in the late 50's and showed his wisdom by his small grey beard. His small hazel eyes were glaring at the young boy that was sitting improper on the dark wooden chair. One of Sasuke's leg was raised on the seating area as his chin was leaning on his knee. His dark eyes were staring at the carpeted floor. His nose was slightly drooping due to the dust in the office; it had gotten a small shade of pink on it from all the sneezing.

The office was small, and it almost seemed more like a closet meant for custodians to store their equipment.

A knock was heard from the door and the old man had a sadistic grin on his face as he stood up from his chair.

"Come in," he said, seeing the boy finally look up from the floor. The big dark eyes were not looking at the principle. They were staring almost unaware at the small window right behind Gerald Gredwood.

"Don't you dare to escape me, you, foolish brat." The old man hissed, assuming the child was looking for a way to flee.

The door opened, revealing Obito Uchiha, wearing his usual police uniform. He stepped inside the room and his eyes immediately focused on the child sitting on the wooden chair. The boy's tie was wrapped around his hand; he was biting its end nervously. The boy didn't look up, but his eyes were forced to stare at the ground this time. Out of shame.

"Sasuke."

Obito stepped closer to the boy and kneeled next to him.

"What have you done..." He whispered. His voice sounded disappointed.

Sasuke franticly turned his head to Obito, his eyes widened as he seemed mad. However, he didn't speak up at first and looked back down again.

"Mr Uchiha," The principle said, "please take a seat."

He indicated to the chair next to Sasuke's.

"As you know, an incident has occurred on school grounds. I am fortunate enough to say that nobody is badly injured," the man spoke as he sat back down.

"However, due to the circumstances, I cannot allow... Sasuke..." he said the name in despise, "to further attend this school as he has proven to be unsafe and a hazard to his environment."

"I didn't do anything!" Sasuke hissed under his breath. Both men looked at the young boy, neither saying a word.

"Yes, as you have said before. The glass suddenly disappeared, and Mr. Alberton fell through it," the man mocked the young boy.

"It did...He did," Sasuke repeated in a soft voice as he finally turned his head to his legal

guardian. Whom didn't say anything, but didn't look at the boy either.

"We won't press charges due to the scene it will cost the school. Mr Alberton however, does not want to see this boy near the school ever again, and I completely support him with these current circumstances."

The old man stood up and for a moment his eyes met with those of Sasuke's. The principle didn't look away as he stared back in the bottomless dark pits. He could see nothing but pure hatred, pure devilish hatred.

Crack.

A strange noise was heard, and the old man turned his head around to look at the window behind his desk. The once dusty and dirty glass had now a big crack in it.

The principle looked worried as he approached the glass.

That hadn't been there a second ago. How could this glass suddenly crack without any sort of indication? Perhaps it was the weather even though it did not make any sense to him.

"I do...However," The man spoke softly as he was still looking at the crack, "recommend a special school" Gredwood finally turned around and looked at Sasuke.

"They will set him straight" The man said, looking all too amused.

The glass suddenly burst, and the principle yelped as he shielded his head from the shattered glass.

"Are you alright?" The police officer stood up from his chair.

Gredwood didn't speak as he slowly moved his hand away from over his head, but to his greatest fear. He could see the young boy giving him a cocky smirk.

"Get out," the principle whispered.

The police officer looked confused.

"Get out!" He shouted at the young boy.

Sasuke stood up from his chair that fell on the floor. He grabbed his bag and felt his guardian hold his hand as they left the office.

"Can you believe that, Obito? Is he going to blame me for the shattered window now too?"

Sasuke had a mocking expression on his face as he felt his guardian pull his arm slightly. It caused Sasuke to stare at Obito in confusion before looking around the halls. He could see his fellow middle-school students looking at him. All of them were staring, some were whispering to one another.

"Say cheese, Uchiha."

Sasuke eyes blinked a couple of times, unaware of the student snapping a picture of him with his flip-phone.

"This one is for when you go to prison. A before and after picture," The boy said mockingly.

Sasuke had hardly the time to snap at him, since Obito pulled slightly harder as he almost dragged him out of the school. Sasuke however did manage to turn around and use his free hand to stick

his middle finger up, proudly.

He turned around and looked at Obito, who kept a neutral face as he walked outside of the school to the car.

"You...You believe me, right?" Sasuke asked carefully as they had reached the vehicle.

"Sasuke, I..." The man sighed and sat inside of the car. Sasuke followed him and put his seatbelt on.

"Tell me you don't believe that I pushed him out of the window. The guy probably weighed a hundred kilograms! It is physically impossible for me to do that."

Obito sniggered.

"It is also physically impossible for a window to suddenly disappear when the teacher was leaning against it."

Sasuke frowned.

"I am telling you what I saw. Why would I make it up?"

"Sasuke," Obito said exhaustedly, "I don't know. What I do know is that you have been kicked out of school and you are barley eleven years old."

He started the engine of the car and drove off from the parking lot to the road. An uncomfortable silence filled the air and Sasuke could do nothing but stare out of the window and back to his legal guardian.

A part of him wanted to scream, shout, kick, punch the man next to him, but it all seemed useless. A waste of effort.

"Are you going to send me to that school?" Sasuke asked. His voice did not betray the fear he had for the possible answer.

"No..." Obito said softly, stopping in front of a traffic light. "You said you didn't push him."

His dark brown eyes looked at the young boy as he gave him a trusting smile. He could see a small smile lighten up Sasuke's face.

"Besides, I am pretty sure that school is haunted. What glass suddenly shatters out of nowhere?" Obito scoffed.

"Yeah, I always felt the presence of evil in that school" Sasuke commented jokingly.

The light turned green and Obito drove ahead, wanting to make a left turn, and for a small moment...Everything seemed to slow down. Sasuke looked out of his window, seeing a car heading right towards them, driving up to twice the speed limit. His expression turned shocked at the sight of the driver's face coming nearer. As he turned his head to Obito, he could see his legal guardian noticing the car too, but it was too late to dodge. Sasuke felt Obito's arm grab him by the shoulder as he tried to pull him away with some hope that he could save the boy.

The next thing he knew everything went black; he was pressed very hard from all directions; he could not breathe, there were iron bands tightening around his chest; his eyeballs were being forced back into his head. It felt like his ear-drums were being pushed deeper into his skull.

Sasuke gasped as he put both hands on the dashboard, keeping him from falling forward. He was panting loudly as he looked around him. The car was located right next to the convenient store, as if it was parked there all along. He could see the speeder make his way down the crossing point. It forced some cars to quickly step on the break as they honked and cursed at the reckless driver that was being chased by two police cars.

"Obito..." Sasuke spoke as he just remembered the man. He turned his head seeing his legal guardian looking as white as a ghost. He stared right in front of him, his hand lifelessly on each side of his body.

"Obito," Sasuke spoke.

He grabbed the man's shoulder and shook him slightly.

"Obito, please..." He said.

The man finally turned his head to look at the boy.

"What happened?" He whispered.

"I have no idea" Sasuke answered truthfully, looking back at the spot their car was in less than a second ago.

"Did we… see into the future?" Obito whispered as he stared at his hands and then into the rear-view mirror.

"I don't think we have fortune-telling powers" Sasuke said mockingly. He stared at the side of Obito's face. A question popped up in his head, but he was unsure if it was the time to ask… but it couldn't hurt, right?

"Do you believe me now?" Sasuke whispered softly, feeling a smack on the back of his head by the man.

Apparently, it was not the right time ask.

oxoxoxox

The night came fast, unfortunately not fast enough for Obito. He stared at the digital clock next to his bed.

"2:03 A.M," he muttered to himself.

He laid on his back with both his arms behind his head. He stared at the ceiling, thinking about everything that happened today. How Sasuke got into trouble in school; how he was kicked out and how they were forced to look for a new one that would be kind enough to accept him. Something that is not as harsh as a military boarding school.

He turned to his side, thinking about the almost car accident. How strange it was for the car to suddenly be in a whole other place. Was it even real? Was it his imagination? Did he fall asleep behind the wheel? How was all of this even possible?

Annoyed, he grunted and hid his head in his pillow.

It wasn't odd for strange things to happen in this town, especially when it involved Sasuke. Strange thing happened ever since he met the boy.

Obito rolled back onto his back and kicked the blankets off him. It seemed so long ago when he had met Sasuke for the very first time. How the hospital had called the police station about a boy with no identification. He was slightly injured. A few bruises and small cuts. He had no record; no family members. They assumed he was an orphan that ran away from a whole other city, if not country. Obito had checked around, he couldn't find a single thing on the child.

They knew his name because it was written in the label of his clothes.

"Sasuke Uchiha" - it was slightly faded, but readable.

He woke up that morning, not knowing anything. He was diagnosed with amnesia.

Obito didn't know what made him do it. Perhaps it was the coincidental fact that they had the same surname or that his colleague made a joke about how they could have been family. Or perhaps he had gotten lonely after his wife had passed away.

He had adopted the kid, treated him like he was his own. It felt like the child had always been a part of Obito's life. Even though it had only been four years.

Obito suddenly sat up, hearing the faint sound of fire cracking from the living room. He hadn't used that fire place in ages. Frowning, he wondered if he could have imagined the sound. He heard the hardwood floor creaking. There was no doubt this time; somebody was inside the house.

He stood up, grabbed the handgun from the top drawer of his nightstand and slowly tiptoed towards the living room. His back was pressed against the wall as his arm reached for the light switch.

He turned the lights on and immediately pointed the gun at the cloaked man standing in the middle of the room.

"Hands on the back of your head, right now!"

"Oh wait," the man said calmly.

The man didn't even look up as he reached for something inside his cloak. Without a second thought Obito shot straight in the man's moving arm.

The cloaked guy hissed in pain and grabbed his injured arm with his good one, falling on a knee.

"Obito…?" A sleeping voice came from behind him.

The officer didn't look back, his eyes were fixated on the cloaked man.

"Sasuke, get behind me," Obito said with a stern voice. Sasuke obeyed his order and stood behind him.

"You bloody muggle" The man sounded rather pissed.

"I aimed for your arm. Don't be fooled, I can get a bullet in your heart in less than a second," Obito warned.

"Yeah, I believe you will do that with that muggle item? What is that called? I have never encountered one in my life before," the man mumbled he let go of his injured arm. He quickly reached inside his cloak, causing Obito to fire the gun again.

The man grabbed a stick from his mantle and pointed it in front of him.

"Protego," the man said.

Obito's expression turned shocked at the sight of his bullet stopping right in front of the stick and then dropping to the floor.

"Obito..." Sasuke whispered, looking at the scene.

"Listen, I am only here to talk," the man assured, putting his hands up, but ironically still holding the stick.

"You come into my house dressed in a black cloak and mask and expect to be making demands?" Obito dropped the gun next to him.

"Smart muggle," the man responded as he took a step towards them.

"I don't think so."

Obito grabbed the rug and pulled it hard so the man fell backwards, the back of his head hitting the bricks of the fireplace, causing him to be knocked out at once.

"Is he... dead?" Sasuke whispered the last word.

"Well, I hope not!" Obito approached the man and looked over him. "He is breathing" Obito noted.

"What do we do now?" Sasuke asked, "call your colleagues?"

"No..." Obito muttered as he picked up the stick from the man, "Not before I get some answers"

oxoxoxoxo

"What in Merlin's beard!" The man panted as a bucket of water was thrown over him. He gasped when he felt somebody grab his throat and he stared right in dark brown eyes that looked awfully relaxed, given the situation.

"Name," Obito demanded as he squeezed the man's throat, tighter and tighter.

"Kakashi..Ha-ta-ke"

Obito let go of him and the man tried to catch his breath.

"You are one wild muggle, aren't you?" He looked up, wincing in pain.

"What is a muggle?" Sasuke asked.

"I told you to go to your room!" Obito turned around to look at the young boy.

"What am I supposed to do in my room?" Sasuke asked, playing with the stick the man was holding earlier.

"Ey, Sasuke, that is not a toy!" Kakashi shouted.

Obito grabbed the man by his hair and pulled his head back.

"How do you know his name? Who sent you here?" He whispered.

"Oh wow...You are a feisty one" Kakashi smirked.

"And how did you stop a bullet with a stick..." Sasuke muttered, neither one of the adults could hear him. He swung the stick, like he saw the man do.

The vase in the middle of the room flew to the wall and shattered.

"Chips!" Sasuke looked at the stick and then at Obito.

"What the hell is going on-"

Kakashi suddenly disappeared from the chair. Obito could feel his hair slip from his fingers into thin air.

"Let's give this back."

Kakashi appeared behind Sasuke, gently grabbing the stick back before disappearing and reappearing in front of Obito.

"Petrificus Totalus"

Obito froze and just stood there, staring at Kakashi.

"Please, I am not here to hurt anybody"

Kakashi grabbed his cloak from the couch and wrapped it around his shoulders, pushed his wet bangs back and took a breath.

"Oh, this is painful," he complained, pointing the stick to his injured arm and whispering something in what sounds like latin, causing the wound to close.

"Allow me to properly introduce myself. I am Kakashi Hatake. I am a professor at Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry. I was sent here to not only help, but also escort Sasuke personally to Hogwarts."

A silence filled the room, causing Kakashi to look at Obito and then back at Sasuke.

"So...Will you behave if I take that spell off?" Kakashi leaned closer to Obito's face. He smirked.

"Right...Right..." He seemed too amused as he undid the spell, causing the man to be able to move again.

Kakashi came to regret his decision immediately when a leg kicked him right in the crotch. He grabbed at his abdomen and hissed in pain.

"What do you mean 'witches and wizards?'" Obito folded his arms as he stared down at the so-called professor.

"Well, after all that happened these past ten minutes...You tell me you don't believe in magic?" Kakashi raised an eyebrow but couldn't hold the face up for long. He was still in a lot of pain from the gut kick.

"Is Obito a ...Magician?" Sasuke asked, looking at the legal guardian who shook his head.

"No. You are." Kakashi spoke.

"I would have known if I were a magician." Sasuke said doubtfully.

"No, not a magician...A wizard. Sasuke, you are a wizard" Kakashi said impassionedly.

"I'm...a what?"

"A lizard, Sasuke!" Kakashi put a hand in front of his eyes, shaking his head. "Wizard!" He corrected himself. "I am getting too old for this shit."

"Obito..." Sasuke looked at Obito who didn't seem to be to surprised or shocked.

"I am not an expert but… It does explain all these weird things that happened. The accident in school, the window...the car."

"Well, I wouldn't give him the credits for the car. That was all me" Kakashi said, "I couldn't have you guys dying on me."

"So you and your sorry ass show up in the middle of the night instead of knocking on the door in the afternoon?" Obito was pissed.

"Weirdly enough, this muggle world is far more fascinating than I thought" Kakashi got up from his chair. "I am a night-owl, I sometimes forget that some people are not up at this hour."

"Excuse me, are you telling me...There are more like me...Us...Out there?" Sasuke sat down on the rocking chair, looking rather shocked. All these years he felt so out of place...It all finally made sense.

"A whole world," Kakashi said. "Your entire family were wizards-"

Kakashi stopped talking right away. He could see both Obito and Sasuke look at him in great surprise.

"You...You don't remember...Do you?" Kakashi asked carefully as he approached Sasuke, kneeling in front of the chair.

"No...I don't remember anything...I remember waking up in a hospital."

"So, it is true... Your memories were erased after the massacre," Kakashi lowered his eyes to the floor. Now he understood why the headmaster and the vice headmaster both did not do this job themselves.


	2. Chapter 2

Four years ago, during the dark, breezy night. Uchiha Itachi was standing on top of the astronomy tower, looking down upon the district filled with members of the great and mighty Uchiha-clan. He lowered his hood over his face and tightened the grip around his wand. His pale face seemed even fairer under the light of the full moon. His white almost perfectly straight teeth bit down his bottom lip.

He stood there, observing everybody carefully. His red, glowing eyes hidden behind the black hood.

Itachi suddenly disappeared from the top of the tower, leaving nothing behind but a dark cloud of air. He suddenly appeared in the middle of the street, causing a few people to gasp that soon turned into chuckles once they recognised the 13- years old boy.

"Itachi, you scared me."

"Already proficient in teleportation? As to be expected from the heir of the clan-" The who was talking man stood still, a smile still spread across his face as it then slowly faded. His hand reached for his throat that was now revealing a deep, bleeding cut. He fell backwards and laid death on the ground.

Nobody seemed to be able to process what happened right away, they looked at the dead man before looking back at Itachi. He was holding, what seemed like an ancient dagger that was now covered in the man's blood.

A woman screamed, some people starter running; other drew their wands out of their pockets to duel Itachi.

Everything was however in vain. It took mere second and all the people once occupying the streets of the Uchiha district were lying lifelessly on the ground.

Itachi didn't batch an eye to these people. He stepped over one of the death bodies and walked towards the large mansion at the end of the district. His red eyes didn't look up for a second when he pulled his wand out; a green light appeared and the man that had attempted to attack him from behind was now instantly dead.

Itachi stopped walking in the middle of the street. He stood still as if to anticipate his next move. He suddenly disappeared into black air, and all that followed was the green light that re-appeared from house to house all around the district.

His body emerged right in front of the entrance of the mansion. He walked inside, the big heavy door loudly closing itself behind him. His steps were loud on the floor, echoing through the house. He entered a common room. It was a big, decorated with gold and silver all over the place. On the marbel floor, laid an expensive rug and not too far from it was a big fire-place with two single chairs in front of it, both occupied.

"So…" A deep voice came from the chair on the left. "You have chosen your side."

Itachi didn't answer. He took his hoody off, revealing his dark long hair tied in a neat ponytail. Slowly, he approached the fireplace. Now, standing in front of his parents.

Fugaku Uchiha was sitting on the left chair. Wearing his dark green robes. An Uchiha crest on the left side of his attire. His entire being screamed wealthy and powerful, as he was.

Sitting on the right chair was Mikoto Uchiha. His beloved wife; a beautiful talented witch. She wore a dark blue dress with silver linings. On her dark, thick, long hair, she was wearing a silver head chain. Her hand was holding that of her husband's. She didn't look at her son at first. Her eyes were fixated on her husband's hand.

Itachi first thought was that his mother was avoiding his face, not being able to stand the sight of his son. However, he was wrong.

Her black eyes suddenly locked with his. She titled her head slightly and looked down upon her son. Mikoto had always been a mighty witch who seemed fearless. If she felt any remorse or the slightest hint of terror, she did a perfect job of hiding it to an extend that even Itachi couldn't tell.

"We are not afraid death, dear" she spoke in a steady voice.

"We greet him like he is our friend." Itachi whispered.

"I am sorry it had to come to this, mother" he spoke the words with no sign of emotion, much like Mikoto.

"Darling," The lady of the Uchiha house spoke to her husband without locking her eyes with him, "look away" she said, not letting go of her husband's hand.

Fugaku respected his wife wishes as he turned his head away, seeing the reflection of green light coming from the all the sparkling surfaces in the room. He felt the grip of his wife's hand loosen and he knew, she was gone.

Fugaku looked up at his son. Itachi's wand was now pointed at him.

"You have betrayed your family…" Fugaku spoke. Unlike his wife, his voice sounded spiteful. He didn't seem as brave as his wife as he wasn't able to look his son in his eyes. The sight was too painful. He sat back in his chair, shutting his eyes as he took a deep breath.

"I am sorry, father. I really am." Itachi whispered, "Avada kedavra"

a green light came from his wand and hit his father right in the chest. When Itachi lowered his wand he could see his father's lifeless hand letting go of that of his dead mother's.

Itachi stood in front of the bodies, his red eyes didn't seem to want to look away. He looked at his parents bodies, as if he was burning the image into his iris. That was until he heard the creaking door being opened, followed by a soft voice.

"Brother?"

Sasuke, whom was barley eight years old, was looking at the fireplace where he could see the back of both chairs and his brother standing in front of them. His eyes lowered themselves to the armrest. It seemed both his father's and his mother's arm were hanging lifelessly besides it.

The little boy had no idea what was going on, all he knew is that he felt scared but couldn't pin point why.

"Sasuke…" Itachi spoke, his scarlet, red eyes didn't look away from the death bodies at first.

"Mommy…." Sasuke looked at the hand before feeling a force jerk him towards his brother. His eyes were filled with tears seeing his brother's wand pointed at him.

"They are dead, Sasuke. Mother and father are dead," Itachi said coldly, forcing the boy to look at the dead bodies.

"They are dead, and they will never come back. They will never be able to talk to you; Sing to you; hug you; Love you. Your parents are gone, Sasuke. Your family is gone!" Itachi shouted the last part. If Sasuke was able to move he would have flinched from his brother's change of attitude.

Itachi put his cold hand on his little brother's shoulder, turning his paralyzed body around and kneeling to his eye-level.

"You want to know what happened?" Itachi whispered. His red eyes, piercing into the dark ones of his brother. Sasuke couldn't answer; he couldn't look away. He was forced to stare at his brother's magical eyes that allowed him to put his little brother in a world of illusion.

Everything was a combination of red, white and black. He could see his brother standing in the middle of the street, killing everybody Sasuke once knew. From his third cousin to his own parents. He had to witness their deaths at least a thousand times. He was screaming, crying, begging for everything to stop.

He fell through his knees, panting heavily as he woke-up from the illusion. Saliva was dripping from the corner of his mouth as his throat felt numb from all the screaming.

"Why…. Itachi…. Why…" Sasuke didn't look up at his brother. He felt his brother's hand grab his hair and pull him up, throwing him like a bag of potatoes across the room.

"Because none of you are worthy of the pure-blooded Uchiha name. You are all blood-traitors." Itachi said, he put his hoody back on before grabbing his wand.

"You are weak, pathetic and unworthy" Itachi pointed his wand to Sasuke, moving closer to his younger brother.

"Especially you, Sasuke." he whispered, "Crucio."

A red light appeared from the tip of Itachi's wand.

Sasuke started screaming and squirming. The pain was so intense, so all-consuming, that he no longer knew where he was. The sensation of hot knives piercing every inch of his skin; his body was surely going to burst open from the pain; he was screaming more loudly than he'd ever screamed in his life.

"You are weak; weak and foolish, Sasuke. I am ashamed to even be associated with you. Your magical ability has always been weaker than mine, weaker than any Uchiha, any wizard I have seen. You are an abomination of the entire wizarding world, Sasuke."

Itachi lowered his wand, finally causing the pain to stop.

"Oh…Foolish little brother."

He kneeled and grabbed his brother by his shoulder, forcing him to roll on his back. It seemed like he was no longer talking to the joy-full younger brother he knew. It felt like nothing but an empty lump of flesh. Sasuke's dark, now hollow, eyes stared at Itachi.

"Pathetic" Itachi stood up.

"I am not going to kill you… You are not worthy of such release. Live your pathetic live. Hate me. Hate me and know…You will never be able to defeat me."

With those words, Itachi kicked his brother on the side of the head, knocking him out completely.

Oxoxox

A small red car was taking the first exit out of the high-way. Obito was looking from the road to the wizard next to him. Kakashi's grey hair was messy, and his hands were on the window as he eagerly looked outside. He almost resembled a dog enjoying a car ride.

"It is magic," Kakashi stated as he turned his head to Obito.

"It is an engine" Obito said, rather annoyed. "What do you guys do for transportation? Flying on broomsticks?" He joked.

"Yah" Kakashi said seriously, "that reminds me, you will need to get a broomstick too, Sasuke. First years aren't normally allowed any, but it is great for practicing if you ever wish to join the Quidditch team next year!"

Obito looked through the mirror at Sasuke, he was giving Kakashi an odd look. It seemed he had a million questions, but didn't know where to start.

"I thought it was on the list as some kind of joke…Or to clean your dorm or something" Obito looked back in the mirror, seeing Sasuke staring right in front of him. He seemed to be deep in thoughts, but it didn't come as a surprise after hearing what had happened four years ago.

Even Obito felt rather shocked after hearing the story of the massacre, not to mention the culprit was Sasuke's brother that was still walking around freely.

"So…Shouldn't it be easy for you wizards to catch criminals?" Obito asked

"You would think that, but the problem is…That the criminals have magic too" Kakashi said, pointing at a pub. "There".

"You brought us to a pub?" A vein popped in Obito's head as he turned his head to Kakashi. "He is eleven!" Obito hissed.

"They have butterbeer!" Kakashi, suddenly disappeared in thin air, causing Obito's attempt to smack him to fail. He reappeared next to Sasuke in the back seat.

"Also, behind the shop is the entrance of Diagon Alley. The only place we're going to get all this." He indicated to the list.

Sasuke looked at Obito from the mirror, seeing him sigh exhaustedly before getting out of the car. Sasuke followed his example and got out, holding the door open for Kakashi who didn't seem to be able to open the door from the other side.

"Fascinating…" Kakashi whispered, seeing Sasuke close the door.

"So, we have to go in the pub? This magical shopping centre is behind this pub? This regular pub" Obito raised an eyebrow as he entered the building, seeing all these people wearing robes and pointed hats.

"What did you say?" Kakashi past Obito.

"I feel like I am the odd one out…" Obito muttered, putting a hand on Sasuke back, guiding the kid forward.

"Hey, I think you are being very cool about all of this." Sasuke looked at Obito, causing him to smile. "This couldn't be easy for you."

"Nothing in life is…Remember that" Obito said, looking around the pub.

"Hatake, fire whiskey as usual?" the bartender asked, seeing the masked man.

"Heavy drinker, aren't you?" Obito commented.

"You would be too if your day consisted of teaching magic to brats" Kakashi said, shaking his head to the bar tender.

"Nah, I got to get this kid ready for school" Kakashi said.

"Since when were you demoted?" The bar tended mocked as he leaned against the table. He was now able to see the boy behind Kakashi.

His leaned in, to get a better look. His eyes widened.

"That is an Uchiha" He stated, causing suddenly the entire bar to quiet down.

"You called the last two kids that entered this pub an Uchiha too" A woman pushed the man away and stood now in his place, looking down at Sasuke.

Her expression suddenly changed, and she straightened her back, not saying anything as she turned away.

"Obito…" Sasuke grabbed his guardian's hand, squeezing it tightly.

"Boy, you will get a lot of this. Better get used to it" Kakashi said, walking to the back.

"That was un-called for," Obito commented. "He is just a child."

"I slayed dragons when I was your age" Kakashi said. "Your brother literally slayed your clan and he was around your-"

Kakashi fell towards the trashcan after getting kicked by Obito.

"You better watch it!" Obito hissed, clenching a fist. "He. Is. Just. A. Child!"

"You are getting hotter by the minute" Kakashi muttered as he got up, feeling his back ache from the fall.

"What?" Both Obito and Sasuke asked, not sure if they heard Kakashi wrong or if they just didn't want to hear him.

"Whatever!" Kakashi grabbed his wand and ticked at the brick wall, causing the wall to separate and reveal a shopping allay filled with witches and wizards.

"Come, come. We have a lot to do," he said. Indicating for them to follow.

"I think my rude and not so kid friendly teacher has a crush on you…" Sasuke whispered.

"I so hope you have better teachers and this is just the odd one out," Obito answered.

They followed Kakashi but couldn't help to look amazed around them. All these shops, all these wizards. Some were young and walked with their parents, doing their school-shopping. Obito stopped in front of a shop selling robes. He looked down at the price tag and then back to Sasuke.

"What is a galleon?" He asked.

"I was going to ask you what a sickle is," Sasuke said, looking at Obito.

"You are telling me they are using a different currency?! Couldn't that shit-head tell us before we came all the way here?"

"Who are you calling a shit-head?" Kakashi suddenly appeared between Obito and Sasuke, straddling both Uchihas.

"Stop. Doing. That!" Obito hissed annoyed.

"We are heading to the wizarding bank. You won't even be needing to exchange any money-"

"How does that even work-"

"Wow, muggle, let me finish for once. Do you always let people hanging mid-way and never let them finish? I am really re-thinking my crush here."

"Come again?" Obito cocked his head, frowning.

"Believe me I want to cum again" Kakashi muttered before he turned his head to Sasuke, "You don't think your parents have left you with nothing? The Uchihas were a very powerful and rich clan, and you are the only heir left from the clan."

"What about my brother?" Sasuke asked.

"You do know how to make an adult uncomfortable" Kakashi said, "I don't know. I don't think he is able to just walk in a bank since he is a highly wanted criminal"

"At least muggles catch their criminals" Obito commented.

Kakashi opened his mouth to say something, but then just shook his head.

"Whatever" he said, grabbing both Obito and Sasuke. "Hold on tight"

In a blink of the eye, they were inside Gringotts, the wizarding bank.

"What are those?" Obito accidently took a step closer to Kakashi, which Kakashi only took too well, wrapping his arm around Obito.

"Those are goblins. They have beauty in the inside" He said, causing Obito to hit his elbow right in Kakashi's ribs.

"You are one feisty muggle" Kakashi moaned in pain as he approached one of the goblins that did not look happy at all. He looked mean and angry. His teeth were sharp and small.

Sasuke swallowed, moving closer to Obito.

"Sasuke Uchiha would like to make a withdrawal" Kakashi said, grabbing a key from his pocket and sliding is smoothly in front of the goblin.

The goblin however remained looking grumpy.

"There is also no beauty in the inside with this one," Kakashi joked as he turned his head to Obito and Sasuke.

After travelling a long path in underground railway. They reached the fault. The goblin opened the door and allowed the three men to walk inside.

"Why am I thinking of a Donald Duck comic, where that one duck dives in gold?" Obito looked around the vault. Everywhere he looked he could see something shine. Stacks of gold was laid everywhere, covering the entire ground.

"Some re-assurance that this will probably cover wizarding college" Obito joked, looking at Kakash who gave him a confused look before just ignoring the comment.

Oxoxoxox

"So, all we need is…A pet…Your books…and a robe." Obito read from the list as they took a break from all the shopping. Sasuke was drinking some pumpkin juice while Obito and Kakashi were having some tea.

"We could go to the robe store next? How long would it take to find you some robes?" Obito asked, looking at the list.

"Uuuggghhh" Kakashi complained, causing both Obito and Sasuke to look at him.

"That will take forever. They make the robes by size-"

"He is 150cm and weights like 40 kgs. How long does it take to put a cloak around him?" Obito said sarcastically.

"If we go ahead and get the books and pet while he is getting his robes made. We can be finished by five," Kakashi suggested.

"Uhm…I don't like to admit it…But he is right" Obito said, looking at Sasuke. "Will you be fine if we drop you off by…." Obito looked at Kakashi.

"Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions" Kakashi said. "Nice lady."

"Sure, I will be fine," Sasuke agreed.

"Then we will meet here?" Kakashi suggested, finishing his tea.

"Sure," Sasuke said. How hard could it be to memorize the way?

"Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasion's, is nearby" Kakashi got up and headed towards the store. It is down the street, the first corner on your right.

"That's it?" Sasuke said, seeing the shop already.

"Yes, just ask for the school uniform. You will be fine" Kakashi said.

"I know" Sasuke muttered, going to the shop.

It didn't take as long as Sasuke had expected. In less than half an hour he stood outside the shop, looking at both side of the streets.

"Down the street, first corner on your right…" Sasuke repeated. He could hear Kakashi's voice repeating himself in his head. Only when he followed the instructions he remembered a vital part of the directions. That was towards the store…not away from it.

"Owh chips" Sasuke said out loud as he quickly turned around, but almost walked right into another wizard.

"I'm sorry" Sasuke said. He tried to walk past the man, but the man grab him by his arm.

"Hey, wait a second"

Sasuke tried to pull away, using all his weight to get the man to let go of his arm.

"You…Midnight black hair, onyx eyes, fair skin…You are an Uchiha!" The man exclaimed, causing everybody around them to stop whatever they were doing and to just stare at Sasuke.

"Get. Your hands. Off me" Sasuke gritted his teeth, his bag with his robes fell on the ground.

The man didn't listen. He just stood there, looking at the dark eyes.

"What is happening here?" A gentle, but serious voice spoke from the crowd.

The man almost immediately let go once he heard the voice that seemed to have startled him.

"Nothing! Nothing at all!" The man said, smiling kindly to the blond man approaching the scene. He did not seem out of the ordinary…For the wizard standards at least.

He was wearing a blue robe and unlike some wizards, he did not wear a hat. He had blond hair and narrow blue eyes and a strong jawline. He was a tall man, but rather slim.

All Sasuke could think of that it was not normal to be that level of handsome, that was not normal at all.

"Are you alright?" The man picks up the fallen bag and handed it back to Sasuke. He could see Sasuke hesitate at first before carefully taking the bag.

"Nothing to see here. Continue your shopping" The man said, feeling everybody's eyes still on the boy.

They seem to obey him right away, it made Sasuke wonder if people respected this man or feared him?

"Are you here alone?" He asked kindly. The seriousness in his voice seemed to be gone. He just sounded kind and friendly.

Sasuke looked away, stubbornly. Not wanting to talk to man. He made him feel nervous.

"Sasuke!" Obito ran towards the boy, "We were looking all over for you"

"How could you mess up such simple instructions? "Kakashi shook his head, walking behind Obito.

"No wizard college for you, young man" he added sarcastically before looking at the unknown man. Kakashi's expression lightened and he seemed to know the man.

"Ah I see, you have met Minato Namikaze" Kakashi said, looking at Minato and shaking his hand.

"Long time no see, Kakashi" Minato said with a smile on his face.

"Shopping for your son? I am surprised he was even allowed to return to Hogwarts after everything he did" Kakashi joked.

"Yeah, he takes after my wife in that matter," Minato looked embarrassed as he scratched the back of his head.

"This is Sasuke Uchiha. He will be joining Hogwarts this year." Kakashi introduced Sasuke even though both knew Minato must have known the boy, as did many people from the wizarding community.

"Nice meeting you, Sasuke" Minato said.

"And this is his legal guardian, Obito. I know he is a muggle, but this muggle you should fear. He shot me in the arm, gave me a concussion, kicked me in the guts, gave me back pain and is going to be my future husband"

"What?"

"What?"

"What?"

Kakashi looked at all three, giving him a questionable look.

"W..What…" He tried to mislead them.

"Nice to meet you, Obito" Minato shook Obito's hand firmly. "I know how overwhelming this all can be."

"Really, you do?" Obito scratched the back of his head.

"Yes, I came from a mug-…A not magical family," Minato explained. "I remember how overwhelming this world has been to my parents…And to me." He looked at Sasuke.

"You will get used to it, believe me…I did." Minato winked at Sasuke who felt his cheeks heat up.

The sound of a bomb exploding was heard in the background, followed by some hard laughter. Minato turned his head around and he seemed embarrassed for a moment.

"Your son?" Kakashi asked.

"I am afraid it is my wife…" Minato sighed. Another exploding sound was heard, leaving a lot of wizards and witches shocked.

"Oh dear…" Minato ran to the direction where the sound came from.

"Head of the aurors, everybody" Kakashi slow clapped.

"Hey, what is that?" Sasuke looked excited at the cage Obito was carrying.

Obito smiled and showing the animal inside it to Sasuke.

"It I your pet."

"It is a hawk!" Sasuke looked amazed at the animal.

"And allowed on the list…. We figured a rat would die in your hands, and birds can deliver mail…Hawks are fast. We figured you would like to write a lot to Obito" Kakashi said.

"I love it!" Sasuke seemed very excited.


	3. Chapter 3

The final day had come. It was time to catch the train and go to the new wizarding school. Sasuke looked doubtfully as he pushed the trolley to platform nine and ten. He could see a white-haired young boy around his age run and suddenly disappear in a wall.

His parents stopped waving and sighed deeply.

"They get big fast" The one man said, shaking his head in disbelieve. He appeared to be emotional. Another man wrapped an arm around his partner.

"Yeah they do. I bet he is going to be just fine" The man assured his partner as they walked away.

At this point. Sasuke was too doubtful if he wanted to take the next step in his life. He swallowed, not wanting to admit his fears. He stopped his trolley and look at Kakashi.

"Now you only need to run through that wall. You will be fine- "

"Joking?!" Obito interrupted Kakashi and looked shocked, "you are asking him to run straight towards a wall. Are you pranking him, Hatake?!"

"Excuse me," Kakashi turned his head to Sasuke, "Little baby, you want me to hold your hand and wipe your butt too?" Kakashi mocked Sasuke. "You only got to run through a wall, big deal!"

"Wow…You do want me gone fast…" Sasuke commented. He didn't say anything as he stared at the brick wall.

"What's bothering you? You seemed so excited last week about going," Obito squatted down to be on the same eye level as Sasuke. "You even read all your books, I bet you are going to do very well," Obito assured Sasuke.

"Yeah, I don't think he will go to wizarding collage, but you sure as hell will get a job at the muggle department of the ministry or something. Not the worst thing."

Sasuke gave Kakashi an annoyed look before wrapping his arms around Obito. He would miss his legal guardian so badly. He never really had any good friends, but he always came home to the one man he knew loved him dearly. It was hard to get out his comfort zone. However, he would never say that out loud.

"Take care alright" Sasuke ended up saying

"That is my line" Obito smiled, giving the boy a small kiss on his forehead.

"Adorable" Kakashi rolled his eyes, but in the process managed to take a quick look at the clock. "Holy shit, I have to leave. I am late!" Kakashi suddenly realised. "You will be fine, Sasuke. I mean…I have gotten to know you by now and I must admit you are not a very pleasant person. However, if you don't find any friends I am sure there is a Hufflepuff that will invest their time in you!"

He suddenly disappeared, just when Obito tried to grab him to ask him if Sasuke was really supposed to run towards a wall.

"That stupid guy…" Obito gritted his teeth.

"There must be some other wizards or witches going through here to get to your new school?" Obito seemed to be looking around him, searching for anybody dressed out of the ordinary.

He noted a big family suddenly coming to a stop. There were two red haired adult women. One was pushing a trolley while the other one was holding the hand of this red-haired girl that looked around Sasuke's age. She had red glasses and other than that there was nothing very special about her. Only a meter or two behind her was another red-head, only this time a boy that was pushing a trolley. He seemed to be in his late teens. Sitting in the trolley, right on top of an orange trunk was a blond boy. Who seemed to be adopted or something. He looked nothing like the people he was surrounded with.

"Come on Karin, we are running late" The woman holding her daughter's hand walked towards the wall and suddenly disappeared.

"Did you see that?" Obito asked.

"Yeah…" Sasuke assured.

"Uhm excuse me." Obito walked towards the family who were all looking at him curiously.

"Yes?" The woman said kindly as she pushed her hair back.

"Do you know how to get to the Platform 9 ¾ ? See this uhm…Wizard was supposed to show us, but he suddenly disappeared." Obito scratched his cheek, feeling rather awkward. She looked from Obito to Sasuke, realising that it was probably the child who needed to get on the train.

"Of course," she said with a kind smile, "You run towards the wall between 9 and 10. There is a magical barrier there…There no other sort of magic involved" She assured Obito.

Sasuke looked at the wall, his expression seeming hesitantly. Was he really just going to run up to a wall?

"I could hold your hand if you are scared-"

her statement suddenly caused the blond and the red-head to chuckle in the background, causing Sasuke to blush. It hit him the wrong way when people thought he was a coward.

"I can imagine it would be very scary the first time." She looked at the boys behind her with a disapproving look, causing both to put their hands over their mouths to prevent them from laughing more.

"My husband is muggle-born and I had to push him though the barrier his first time because he was blocking the damn way-"

The boys behind her started laughing again.

"I think I can handle it!" Sasuke's face was completely red now.

"Sasuke," Obito said with a stern voice, "this lady was just being nice-"

"I am fine! Bye! See you during Christmas! Sasuke ran towards the wall and shut his eyes as he ran through the magical barrier leaving the others behind on the muggle platform.

Obito cleared his throat and looked at the red-haired woman.

"…He had a tough time…Dealing with all of this," Obito apologised on Sasuke's behalf.

"He is Sasuke Uchiha, right? I don't blame him" She sighed, her eyes clearly showing sympathy.

"I see…So everybody really does know the story" Obito looked worried at the wall. He was already concerned about Sasuke.

Oxoxox

Sasuke was seated inside the train, seeing it slowly take off from the platform. He could see the parents waving eagerly to their children until they were out of sight.

Sasuke sighed deeply remembering the embarrassing moment back at the station. To be laughed at by a bunch of morons during the trip alone made him feel rather unsure about the whole ordeal. It was one thing to be hated in a world with no magic, but being in a magical world where a killer, psycho brother -that had slaughtered the entire family but Sasuke for some reason- on the lose …That was a whole other level of anxiety.

The door of the compartment opened, and a young white-haired boy was standing in the door opening.

"Occupied?" He asked.

Sasuke shook his head, causing the boy to sit down in front of him. He made a relieved sound as he sat and looked at Sasuke. He extended his hand.

"Suigetsu" He introduced himself.

"Sasuke," Sasuke shortly shook the other kid's hand as he went back to look outside. He didn't want to be staring at the boy's features which were unique to Sasuke. He couldn't help himself as he gave the boy a quick glance.

He had purple eyes and it were his teeth that really stood out. They were almost shark-like.

Would it be rude to ask if they were natural? Would it be too direct?

Sasuke could hear his voice of reason, that sounded an awful lot like Obito, that he should not be offending wizards during the train-ride.

"Hey, are you like that one kids that like escaped a psycho killer and the most wanted criminal in the world?" Suigetsu asked. He seemed to be deeply in thoughts, staring at Sasuke.

"No," Sasuke said well-convincing. "I am that kid from another wizarding clan that got massacred by some other guy who is also a very wanted criminal."

Suigetsu laughed, holding his stomach in the process.

"You are weird," he said once he was done laughing. He sat back in his chair and took a breath, "We are going to be friends" he stated, pointing at Sasuke.

"What value do you bring to this friendship?" Sasuke asked, folding his arms. He appeared rather amused. There was something about Suigetsu that Sasuke seemed to appreciate …His honestly perhaps.

"Well, I have some pretty good jokes. What do you bring to this friendship?"

"Attention" Sasuke answered.

"That will totally go away in time. Like this week you are the boy-that-live and shit, but then people stop caring. You gotta gimme something better" Suigetsu folded his leg, leaning back, causing him to slowly slide off the couch.

"Hmm…Valid point." Sasuke tapped his index finger to his chin, thinking deeply.

"How about, a psycho sociopath that is trying to kill me?" Sasuke asked.

"Nah if he wanted to kill you he would have done it with the rest of your clan" Suigetsu said. "I will take that water bottle in your bag"

Sasuke raised a questionable eyebrow.

"Suigetsu, how did you know about the water bottle in my bag?" Sasuke reached for his bag. "Do you smell water? Are you half fish?"

"I tell you for your water?" Suigetsu extended his hand as Sasuke held the bottle in his hand.

"Hmmm…. Nah I don't care enough" Sasuke opened the bottle and took a sip from the water.

"You…. Bitch" Suigetsu smiled and sat back straight.

Sasuke put the cap back on the bottle and extended the bottle to Suigetsu.

"Thirsty?" He asked.

Suigetsu took the bottle.

"Yeah, my dad forgot to pack water. I get dehydrated fast. I can trade my juice for it" Suigetsu suggested.

"Nah…We can share the water" Sasuke said.

The door opened again and this time, Sasuke recognised the red-haired girl from the magic barrier.

"Can I sit here." She didn't really ask, as she closed the door behind her and immediately sat next to Suigetsu.

Her red eyes examined him thoroughly, causing Suigetsu to give Sasuke a strange look. Sasuke raised his shoulder.

"So…I'm Suigetsu," Suigetsu introduced himself.

"Karin" She didn't shake his hand, instead she made a not caring "shooing' gesture with her hand.

"You…You are an Uchiha" She stated.

"Sasuke" Sasuke shortly introduced himself.

"I am Karin" she now extended her hand to Sasuke and since he didn't bother to shake Suigetsu's, Sasuke didn't bother to shake hers.

"Well then," She crossed her legs and put both of her hands on her lap. "I am from the Uzumaki clan. One of the few pure-blooded clans left " She said, her nose sticking up in the air as a proud arrogant princess.

"You should watch out," Suigetsu said, sharing a look with Sasuke. "Maybe one day one Uzumaki will slaughter the entire clan"

"Pff' Karin scoffed. "Of course, not "She quickly looked at Sasuke.

"I thought my brother would never dare to…But well…" He looked away, but he could see her horrified reflection in the glass.

"I bet is going to be bloody Naruto" She hissed under her breath.

Both Suigetsu and Sasuke looked away and had to hold back their smiles.

The train came to a stop and both Sasuke and Suigetsu were excited. They got off the train and made their ways to the castle by boats. Suigetsu had told Sasuke all about four great houses and explained what they stood for. Sasuke was surprised by this sorting tradition but didn't think too much about it. He told Suigetsu what Kakashi had said about the Hufflepuffs, causing them both to laugh.

However, this laughter was not very appreciated by the vice-principle and head of Ravenclaw: Tobirama Senju.

He looked down at both boys who were walking in the back of the herd when they approached to door to the great hall.

"Who is he?" Sasuke whispered to Suigetsu.

"That is Tobirama Senju, one of the greatest wizards of this time. He is known for his amazing intelligence as he had contributed to the potion and charms worlds. They say he has invested years of his life in the dark arts, creating some of the worst spells out there. However, nobody can proof it," Karin said, not taking her eyes off the man.

"Apparently your crush?" Suigetsu teased her.

"Of course not!" She raised her voice as she her face was turning red. "You should be extra careful. He is known to not like Uchihas."

"That is just racist….Clan-cist? Family-cist?" Sasuke looked at Karin who just shook her head, whispering something about the boys being big morons.

Tobirama introduced himself and immediately made clear he did not tolerate any sort of nonsense from the students. He was also not one to be known for his forgiveness. He explained the sorting process in a very shortly before he entered the hall. He took a phew steps and turned around.

"Follow me" he said, "you bunch of morons" he whispered under his breath.

"Seems like he and I will get along" Sasuke said to Suigetsu.

"Yes, you are a grumpy old man. He is a grumpy old man. You two will get along great."

"Are you even aware of your family history?" Karin suddenly walked on Sasuke's other side.

"Should I? They are dead?" Sasuke said harsh.

"You idiot," she pushed her glasses up her nose. "One of your ancestors around a century ago is responsible for one of the biggest wizarding wars till now. His name was Madara Uchiha and he was a firm believer of wizarding dominance in the world. He was relentless… " Karin stopped whispering and Sasuke thought she was giving him time to process this information.

"Seems my entire family consists of overly powerful dark wizard that are out to kill people" Sasuke said out loud. His voice echoed through the great hall.

Sasuke's eyes widened. Apparently, he had failed to notice that the reason Karin stopped talking was because of the sudden silence that came before the sorting began.

The hall remained quiet and Sasuke looked at Suigetsu who awkwardly looked away.

"Just…Kidding…?" Sasuke looked at Karin, seeing if there was some sort of approval, but she just grunted and slapped her forehead.

"If you are done seeking attention; I would like to proceed to the sorting" Tobirama said grumpily. Sasuke raised his shoulders in a not knowing way towards Suigetsu who responded by shaking his head

"You know what…" Tobirama lowered the scroll with the names of the first years.

Neither one of them had realised Professor Senju was still looking at them.

"Uchiha and….You." He pointed at Suigetsu and indicated them to come forward.

Both boys lowered their eyes and did as they were told. Tobirama indicated to the stool.

Sasuke and Suigetsu looked at one another, both not wanting to be the first one being sorted. Eventually, Sasuke sighed and sat down on the stool.

Tobirama placed the sorting hat on the boy. Sasuke looked right in front of him. He did not want to appear nervous and weak by avoiding everybody's eyes. He had nothing to be ashamed of to begin with.

"I didn't think I would be put on an Uchiha ever again" The hat suddenly talked.

"You are smart…"

Karin scoffed in the crowd.

"You are much like your brother"

Sasuke stopped breathing by this comment.

"Brave…You are sure…Ambitious…Very." He hummed, thinking deeply, " Where oh where…Does your potentials come out best…Gryffindor…House of the brave"

The Gryffindor table looked lightly stunned as they eyed one another.

"Ravenclaw…Like your brother has been."

Tobirama's expression darkened immediately, causing some people from the Ravenclaw table to snigger.

"Perhaps in Slytherin, you'll make your real friends. Those cunning folks use any means, to achieve their ends."

There was no reaction from the Slytherin table, as had been by the Ravenclaws and Gryffindor. Sasuke saw some people he looked at smiling almost kindly at him.

"Of course…I can see it deep within you…" The sorting hat muttered.

"SLYTHERIN!" The hat yelled out.

The Slytherin table stood up and clapped loudly.

Tobirama put the hat off Sasuke's head and Sasuke proceeded to walk towards the Slytherin table. He was welcomed with a hug by some girl who was standing next to a boy with a badge that said ' _Prefect_ '.

"We are happy to have you, Uchiha" She said and winked at him. Sasuke sat down next to her as she had offered. He saw Suigetsu on the stool and he stuck his thumb up.

"Slytherin!" The sorting hat yelled out. Suigetsu seemed immediately amused as he rushed towards Sasuke.

"Same house!" He said excited.

"I thought you were going to be sorted in Hufflepuff" Sasuke commented.

"Because there is always is a Hufflepuff that will invest their time in you." They both quoted Kakashi, unaware it caused almost the whole table to laugh at the comment, and some students of the Gryffindor table to glare at them.

"You wish to get a minute of a Hufflepuff's time" A boy with brown hair and scars on each side of his cheek hissed at Suigetsu and Sasuke.

"It is Hufflepuffs or Hufflepuffers?" Sasuke questioned, causing the boy to remain quiet.

"What is it? Brain freeze? Did not take much." Suigetsu high-fived Sasuke.

"I get you bunch of newbies-"

The angry brunet was interrupted by the purple haired girl.

"Point your dog breath to your own table, Kiba" The girl with the p said, pushing his face away with her hand.

"Don't you guys worry," she whispered to the first years. "We Slytherins have each other's backs. If anybody dares to touch our first years, the other years will destroy them." She clenched a fist

"And you…Are?" Suigetsu asked, "You know…. In case we have to scream your name when we are in trouble?"

"Or getting beaten to death" Sasuke added.

"I am Anko. If you ever need any help you can come to me" She winked.

"Are you two getting yourselves in trouble already?" Karin approached their table

"Oh…You got sorted into Slytherin too?" Suigetsu rolled his eyes.

"Of course, I am pure-blooded, ambitious and cunning witch, much like my mother and father." She flipped her hair back before sitting next to Sasuke.

"Naturally…" Sasuke and Suigetsu shared one last look.


	4. Chapter 4

A few months had passed and Sasuke was running through the halls of Hogwarts. His hair was messy, which has become a common trade of his. He jumped up the stairs, quite literal, skipping one step each time. He peeked inside the classroom to see if the teacher was present and for a moment it seemed safe. He slipped inside and sat between Suigetsu and Karin.

"Where have you been?" Karin asked pissed.

"I accidently slept in," Sasuke turned his head to Suigetsu, "how could you not wake me up?"

"Bro, I did. I even threw water in your face."

"I thought it was raining inside!" Sasuke looked amazed before staring in front of him. Luckily, he hadn't spotted professor Tobirama anywhere, yet.

"You fell asleep reading books again, didn't you?" Karin looked pissed.

"Tch" Sasuke rolled his eyes at his classmate.

"What good does it do to you? You can't perform most spells in the books anyway. You will need to practice them and that is advanced stuff, we aren't allowed to do that as first years."

"Actually, I have learned to absorb the water from the air I am breathing in and change it to condense" Sasuke grabbed Karin's glasses and breathed out through his mouth before handing them back.

"You're such a bully" Karin glared at both Sasuke who had a satisfied smirk on his face and Suigetsu who was chuckling.

A hand suddenly held Sasuke's shoulder and the Uchiha froze in his spot.

"Give me a valid reason why you think it is appropriate to enter late during my class?" Sasuke could hear professor Senju ask in a not so pleased tone.

Sasuke turned around. He found the man to be quite intimidating. He was looking down with his narrow red eyes as he had his arms folded.

"Well…. Sir…I-"

what was he supposed to say? Sir, I am bored in a lot of my classes and want to do more advanced magic than just making feathers fly and writing about magical history. So, I spend most my night in the library ogling the restricted section as I try to amuse myself with several defence against the dark arts and charm books I can get my hands on at the library?

"I accidently slept in." He finally said after a uncomfortable silence. At least he wasn't lying.

"Five points from Slytherin," Tobirama said as he proceeded to walk to the chalk board. Some of the Gryffindor students -that shared their potion class- laughed, and it seemed no points were reduced from their house for their childish behaviour.

"Damn it, Sasuke" Karin said, "Now we lost five points."

"He will get them back," Suigetsu seemed annoyed by Karin. "He gets most of the points during classes anyway."

"That's not what matters -"

"Shut up." Sasuke interrupted them before turning to Karin: " I will tell you the wise words Professor Hatake had told me once: you are an unpleasant person"

Sasuke quickly grabbed his quill out and was about to start copying what the professor had written on the blackboard. That was until he could suddenly hear a book shut loudly. He looked up from his parchment and saw Karin grab her bag and quickly walk out of the class. Her eyes glued to the ground.

Sasuke shared a look with Suigetsu, he seemed just as surprised as the Uchiha was.

"Well…She was being very unpleasant. And that is an understatement," Suigetsu whispered. He looked in front of the class to the professor. He seemed to note that one of the Slytherin girls had ran away from his class, but he decided not to comment on it.

"Can somebody give me the three key ingredients for forgetfulness potion?" Tobirama asked. The class suddenly remained quiet and Sasuke was the only one that slowly raised his hand.

He had caused his house to miss 5 points. He better gets them back.

"Mr Uchiha" Tobirama said, looking unimpressed.

"Lethe River Water, mistletoe berries, and Valerian sprigs" Sasuke answered.

"Do you mind telling us why you waited to raise your hand instead of immediately raising it, Mr Uchiha?"

The immediate question came unsuspected and Sasuke didn't know what to say.

"I was giving the other students the opportunity to answer?" He said confused.

"Thank you, Mr Uchiha, but I will teach my own students." Tobirama Senju turned back to the black board. He seemed as bitter as always.

"He hates me, doesn't he?" Sasuke whispered to Suigetsu. He wasn't surprised that Tobirama didn't grand the Slytherin house any points. Karin was right when she mentioned the prejudice the professor had towards Uchihas.

"You know he is the head of Ravenclaw" Suigetsu whispered under his breath.

"Yeah so?" Sasuke sighed, leaning his head down on the table. He wasn't in the mood to deal with a professor that hated him. He had many of those back in the muggle world anyway.

"Your brother was in Ravenclaw. Maybe he hates you because…Of him?" His friend suggested carefully.

"Right…" Sasuke looked at him, "But he must have been a good student. He slaughtered a clan at thirteen, so I heard."

"How come you don't remember anything? It almost seems like you have been obliviated."

Sasuke frowned for a second and focussed back to the blackboard before looking back at his friend. Suigetsu had made a valid point. All Sasuke knew was that he was diagnosed with Amnesia and Kakashi had mention something similar to it…But whatever he had briefly mentioned slipped Sasuke's mind due to the chaos the wizard had brought with him.

"I mean…Why would he keep you alive? He could've just killed ya." Suigetsu wondered outloud.

"What if he couldn't kill me?" Sasuke theorized, "maybe I didn't get away or survived…Perhaps he was unable to kill me."

"Then why don't you remember anything?" Suigetsu looked suspicious, "It doesn't make any sense. If he was able to slaughtered the entire clan….Kill his own mother…He should have been able to kill you."

"You are right." Sasuke sighed, "I was only eight years old. I didn't even have a wand. There is no way I could have defeated him or escaped him."

"Maybe you forgot everything due to trauma? I've heard it happen?" Suigetsu put a hand on Sasuke's shoulder.

"Then why don't I know how my mother looks like…Or my dad…I don't even know my brother's name" Sasuke slapped Suigetsu's hand away. "It couldn't have been all bad memories."

"My dads never told me his name…Something about being afraid of it. They nicknamed him the Raven. Not because he was in Ravenclaw, but something about black craws…."

"Why don't they call him Black Craw then?" Sasuke frowned.

The bell rung, causing everybody to clean up their tables.

"I have no idea" Suigetsu said, grabbing his bag, "You are in Hogwarts, the saves place there is. That is what my dad says anyway. He says it's saver than the bank he works at."

Sasuke got up and was about to leave the classroom if it weren't for professor Senju calling him out. Suigetsu and Sasuke shared an anxious look.

"Good luck," Suigetsu said, walking to The Great Hall for lunch. Once all the students were out of the classroom, Tobirama closed the door, using his wand. He leaned against his desk and folded his arms, still looking displeased.

Sasuke looked at the ground, not wanting to look in the red narrow eyes that were always filled with hate.

"Itachi" he finally spoke.

"Bless you," Sasuke said, thinking Tobirama had just sneezed the most monotone and boring sneeze in the history of sneezing.

He heard Tobirama grunt and he looked up from the floor. The man muttered something about the boy being a moron before finally saying: "That is your brother's name. His name is Itachi. I did not sneeze."

He turned himself around, "that is all."

"Thank you, professor" Sasuke said, turning around to leave the classroom. He repeated the name a few times in his head. It was an odd one, but something that did seem to feel familiar somehow.

"One more thing," Tobirama said, causing Sasuke to wake up from his thoughts and turn around to face the man who was cleaning the white board and grabbing a piece of chalk to write something else on it for the next lecture.

Sasuke could hear the chalk break and a part dropping on the floor, right under his professor's feet.

"If somebody does mention him by name. You should beware…" Tobirama looked over his shoulder, his eyes giving Sasuke an angry look, "Most ordinary wizard and witches do tend to avoid it at all costs. They think it's jinxed."

For a moment no words wee spoken between the two. Sasuke felt is strange feeling in the pit of his stomach. Unaware of where it came from. He looked away from Tobirama's gaze before looking back at the man, who didn't seem to have blinked once the past couple of seconds.

"Uhmm…" Sasuke was hesitant,"You just said his name?" he showed the confusion on his face.

Tobirama turned completely around and threw the chalk in the air. The Uchiha could see it fly across the room and hit him right in the forehead. It felt like a small metal ball had hit him on the forehead. The already broke chalk fell on the floor and shattered.

"Out of my classroom, Uchiha!" Tobirama said angerly, causing Sasuke to quickly walk away.

He rushed down the halls and only briefly looked up to see Karin walk outside of the girl's bathroom. She walked fast and held her head down. She ignored everyone around her and was sobbing quietly as she covered most of her face with her red hair.

Sasuke walked quickly to The Great Hall for lunch. He sat next to Suigetsu and didn't say anything as he grabbed the fruit salad and put some on his plate.

"What did professor Senju want?" Suigetsu asked once his friend has some bites of his food. "Also…what is that white stuff on your forehead?"

Sasuke put his fork down and rubbed his forehead that was still aching slightly.

"Chalk" he said, "He threw his chalk at me. He is a bitter old man."

"Of course, did he take any points from Slytherin?" Anko asked, turning her head to Sasuke.

"He took five because I was late for his class." Sasuke picked his fork up again and played with a piece of melon on his plate.

"He didn't give me any back when I answered his questions right during his lesson. Instead he was just complaining. Like, I can't help the Gryffindors' are stupid and can't answer a simple question!"

"I couldn't answer it either…" Suigetsu muttered under his breath, looking away from Anko and Sasuke.

Sasuke stuck his fork in the piece of melon and looked up from his table. He could see Sakura Haruno, a Metamorphmagi, muggle-born witch from Ravenclaw, walk towards the Gryffindor table.

Sasuke had gotten to know her in the library. Not by talking to her but seeing her throw small tantrums and witnessing her pink hair turn scarlet while hearing her talk to herself all the time.

Her hair was a shade of a gloomy purple colour now, and she grabbed Naruto Uzumaki by the shoulder, whispering something to him.

Naruto Uzumaki was a popular wizard in the school. He had some sort of self-justice system where he would prank the people that had wronged him or others. He was a second-year student in Gryffindor. He could be often found at the Quidditch field. Naturally, he was a chaser in the Gryffindor team. And of course, he was also the boy that laughed at Sasuke at platform nine and ten. Sasuke didn't like him already for that particular reason.

Sasuke had suspected the boy to be the trouble-making son of Minato Namikaze. As their resemblance was uncanny. However, it was confusing that his last name was Uzumaki and he was Karin's cousin. As for as Sasuke knew Karin was nowhere close being related to Minato. She also never did appreciate their kindship since they did not get along.

"What are you looking at?" Suigetsu looked at the Gryffindor table. "Dog breath, Tall-boy and Goldilocks?"

"Nothing.." Sasuke got up and grabbed an apple from the fruit basket. "I going to the lake."

"Hey, I am coming with you." Suigetsu got up and walked besides Sasuke towards the lake. The weather was grey, and the wind was cold outside, but it wasn't strange for this time of year. Not many students were outside…Not many at all.

"Hey…Is that Karin?" Suigetsu grabbed Sasuke by his arm preventing him from taking another step.

"Dude, you really wanna go to her after what you said? Should we just ignore her and have her ignore us and live in peace?" Suigetsu looked desperate.

"Looks like she has been crying" Sasuke noted. He felt the need to ignore her, but he could hear Obito's voice inside his head telling him it was wrong to make her cry.

Sasuke pulled himself free from Suigetsu and sighed when he gave in and walked towards Karin. She looked up, her teary eyes frowned immediately.

"What?! came to throw apples at me?" She said, turning her head away. Sasuke sighed, regretting the moral voice inside him already. He sat down next to her in front of the lake.

"I didn't mean for you to cry," he sighed.

Karin didn't look at Sasuke and Suigetsu seemed to hesitate.

"Well, you did." She whipped the tears off her cheek, " Hope you feel really happy about yourself now."

"You know, I have a big family! I will tell them what you said to me." She couldn't surpass the sniffs in between her sentence.

Suigetsu and Sasuke shared a look after hearing what Karin said.

"Are you threatening us?" Sasuke got up from the grass, it seemed the sympathy was gone from his voice in less than a second. Karin hugged her knees and looked ahead of her, avoiding the Uchiha's eyes.

"I don't respond to threats." Sasuke narrowed his eyes at her. He had half a mind to threw her in the lake, " I make them." His voice sounded dark and almost appeared to belong to somebody else.

"Yo Sasuke," Suigetsu seemed to have noticed the change of aura, "Let's not get scary dark-side on her now… She clearly doesn't get along with us."

"Clearly not getting along with you?!" Karin stood up and took her glasses off.

"I have tried my hardest to be nice to you two and all you two do is being rude and mean to me!" She screamed, dropping her glasses on the grass, "Why I even bother with you two buffoons is a mystery to me!" She continued screaming at the two, awaking something inside the river by her loud voice.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, looking past her to the lake. Were his eyes misleading him? or was there a big ass trunk in the water? It appeared to become bigger.

Suigetsu continuously tapped Sasuke on the shoulder, looking paler than ever as he witnessed the monster emerging from the lake.

Sasuke looked shocked seeing the water drip off the giant monster in the lake. It was something beyond his imagination, something he thought he only heard rumours off, something…Monstrous.

"The loch Ness monster…" Sasuke whispered.

Karin looked enraged, thinking the comment was meant towards her.

"How dare you call me a monster!" Karin grabbed the apple in Sasuke's hand, "and you thought you could've made all of this up by brining me a stupid apple!" She threw it behind her, unaware it hit the monster right on the head.

"Well go fu-"

The tail of the monster wrapped itself around Karin and pulled her towards it. She screamed and started kicking her leg in the air as she continuously slapped around her.

"RUN SASUKE RUN!" Suigetsu managed to pull Sasuke away from the grasp of the tail, knocking them both over on the grass.

"What is that!" Sasuke shouted.

"It's a bloody Sea Serpent!" Suitgetsu screamed, "we gotta run! We've to get help."

"She needs help right now!" Sasuke got up, grabbing his wand and pointing it to the monster.

"What ya gonna do, lumos his ass?" Suigetsu looked desperate as he grabbed his collar and pulled on it while biting his nails.

"we gotta get professor Senju or..or the headmaster!" He tried to come up with a plan, but seeing the monster swing Karin around caused him to panic.

"WE NEED THE ENTIRE SEALING OF MAGIC BEASTS SQUID!" He bellowed and looked back at Sasuke. To his surprise he could see Sasuke pick up a rock and throw it at the serpent's head.

"HEY, YOU UGLY THING! COME HERE!" Sasuke waved his hand, getting the attention of the serpent.

"What're you doing!?" Suigetsu waved his arms around as he screamed at Sasuke.

"I will get his attention and you get Karin out of the water!" Sasuke demanded. "It's our only shot!"

"Owh boy…" Suigetsu put his hands in his hair, looking how Sasuke was throwing another rock to the serpent, finally catching his attention.

"Dad said make good friends….Why did I make a stupid ones…" Suigetsu grabbed his wand, deciding to stay instead of running of. However, he remembered his father teaching him the wizarding distress signal. He pointed his wand up and made red fire work appear in the sky, hoping somebody would see them and send help.

"YEAH, COME HERE!" Sasuke stood over the edge of the lake. He made big rocks levitate and fall on the sea monster's head.

"YEAH YOU WANNA PIECE OF ME!" Sasuke shouted. He waved his wand and whispered a spell, causing blue flames to hit the sea serpent. It hardly burned him, but it did enough to annoy the best.

His tail unwrapped itself around Karin and she was dropped in the water. The Sea Serpent was now heading to Sasuke as the Uchiha ran near the edge of the lake, making sure the Sea Serpent would still come towards him so Suigetsu could get Karin out of the water.

Suigetsu jumped in, holding his wand between his teeth as he skilfully swum towards Karin and grabbed her.

"'ve got her!" Suigetsu said once he pulled Karin out of the lake.

Sasuke was about to stop running around the lake and was sprinting for the castle, but the tail of the Sea Serpent elongated and wrapped itself around Sasuke's leg.

"SASUKE!" Both Karin and Suigetsu shouted.

Sasuke held his wand tightly and was hung upside down as the sea serpent moved him to eye height to get a good look at him before opening his mouth and making a shrieking sound.

"Ha.." Sasuke pointed his wand at the Sea Serpent's eyes and managed to blind him with a skilful charm.

Sasuke pointed his wand at the tail wrapped around his legs, ready to use the fire spell again. However, the sea serpent was panicking and moved his head and tail wildly around. Sasuke couldn't hold on to his wand and accidently let go of it. His smug smile disappeared right off his face when he tried to catch it, but he missed it and it fell in the lake. The monster came to a halt when it heard the wand dropping into the water. He opened it mouth, screeching and showing the hundreds of sharp teeth inside his mouth.

Sasuke felt all the blood in his body disappear and his heart was pounding inside his chest. It felt like the end for him. A lame end.

"TELL OBITO I LOVED HIM!" Sasuke shouted shutting his eyes as he was waiting for some sort of impact. He could smell the breath of the monster but instead of being eaten alive, he could feel the beast letting go of him. His body fell in the lake and Sasuke swam up, looking at the monster that had a giant boulder stuck in his mouth. He turned his head to Karin and Suigetsu who both had their wands out. They had moved the boulder combining their magic and throwing it in the Sea Serpents mouth.

"SASUKE SWIM!" Karin reminded him.

"FAST!" Suigetsu added.

Sasuke tried to get to them, but the monster's desperate movements were creating big waves that made it hard for Sasuke to get out of the water. He wasn't as good as a swimmer as Suigetsu had proofed himself to be.

The Sea Serpent spit the boulder out and his head was once again pointing at the boy swimming in the water.

"SASUKE!" Karin looked around her searching for anything that could help the situation. She looked at her wand.

"Suigetsu" She said. It seemed Suigetsu got the memo right away.

Karin threw her wand towards the water.

"Wingardium Leviosa" Suigetsu aimed at her wand as he managed to get it closer to Sasuke so he could grab it. Sasuke pointed it to the Sea Serpent.

"DEPULSO!" He shouted. As expected, the sea serpent stayed in its place, but Sasuke was pushed right out of the water and on to the land. He was panting heavily and both Karin and Suigetsu grabbed him from each a side and tried to get away from the like while.

"Gotta move, boy. Gotta move!" Suigetsu panicked, looking over his shoulder to the monster. The tail once again was reaching towards them. Suigetsu shut his eyes and pushed both Sasuke and Karin away from the best while he bravely offered up his own life instead.

Suigetsu waited for the impact, but nothing seems to come at first.

"Go ahead…Eat me. Kill me. That's how the food chain works. I swear if I come out of this alive I will never hurt another living being again. I will become a vegetarian…A vegan!"

"Suigetsu…" Sasuke called his name.

"I will not even hurt plants…..I will be like…A breath eater or something." Suigetsu was still standing on land, holding his arms out and waiting for the monster to grab him.

" Wow, it is true what they say. I can see my whole life pass by me. Yeah…Somebody tell my dads that I love them….And that their lasagne sucks and they really should stay away from the Italian kitchen-"

"SUIGETSU!" Karin grabbed him by his shoulder, causing Suigetsu to finally open his eyes. He could see the trees around the lake wrapped around the beast and holding him captured.

"Did…Did I do that?" Suigetsu looked amazed, " Ha! Am I awesome or what?!"

Karin grabbed him by his shoulder and shook her head before she pointed at the headmaster that was standing behind them.

"Oh…Yeah that makes more sense" Suigetsu looked at headmaster Hashirama.

"I must say I am very surprised by this sudden visitor in our lake. How it has grown to be so big without anybody noticing is the real mystery" Hashirama said turning his gaze from the monster to the three students,"This could have ended very badly for you three."

All three of them looked away from the headmaster.

"You three should have told any of the professors instead of solving this yourselves-"

"Headmaster…" Karin said timidly, "This isn't on them. I was the one coming to the lake and awoken the serpent…It attacked me and if they didn't help me I would have died for sure…. They saved me…" Karin finally looked up, seeing Hashirama being moved by her words. He was about to say something, but he got interrupted by the voice of a loud, blond, second-year Gryffindor.

"No Trashcan!"

Sasuke turned his head around, seeing Naruto run towards the lake followed by the 3 other Gryffindors and Sakura.

"Please, Headmaster Hashirama!" Naruto put his hands together in a begging gesture. "Trashcan is not dangerous at all! All she is, is just a little playful."

"She?" Both Sasuke and Suigetsu shared a looked before eyeing the Sea Serpent again.

"Playful?!" Karin grabber her glasses from the grass and pushed them on her nose.

"I knew it. I knew it! If something bad happens it is always you! It always involves you! Wait till I tell Aunt Kushina about this! You are in so much trouble!" Karin pointed an accusing finger right at her cousin's face. Naruto slapped the finger away annoyed.

"It almost ate me!" Suigetsu added.

"It didn't even come close to eating you…Your sacrifice was very noble though," Sasuke commented, supporting himself on Suigetsu. He felt exhausted.

"It swung Sasuke around like he was some sort of Maraca!" Suigetsu changed his argument.

"Trashcan doesn't hurt anybody, dattebayo!" Naruto argued, "You must have scared her or provoked her!"

Sasuke looked suspiciously at Naruto.

"Why did you name it? Unless it was yours to begin with?" He questioned.

Hashirama raised an eyebrow and folded his arms as he looked at Naruto with a stern expression.

Naruto's face turned panicked and he looked over at his friend before scratching the back of his neck, thinking of something to say.

"She was small and injured. I had to help her. She was getting too big for the bathroom sink so …. I released her in the lake." Naruto looked away.

"It is autumn, it is 4 degrees outside…Who was gonna go to the lake?!" Kiba backed his best friend up.

"We also informed the head of the magical creature department to pick her up" Shikmaru added.

"We didn't think it would grow so much in a week" Chouji said.

"Oh, look at that…The four idiots and the giant morons fail their plan. Of course! You should be all very ashamed of yourselves! You could have killed a bunch of first years!" Karin threw her hands in the air.

"He should be expelled!" She demanded, looking at Hashirama.

"Shall I do the scolding?" Hashirama politely interrupted Karin before looking at Naruto.

"Naruto, although I know you care deeply for magical creatures you often don't see how dangerous they can be. I have no choice but to give each of you a month's worth of detention and…fifthly points from Gryffindor."

"50?!" Kiba looked shocked.

"Yeah, can you count that far?" Sasuke commented, high fiving Suigetsu as they could see Kiba's pissed off face.

"Each." Hashirama added. The Gryffindors' jaws were wide open.

Sakura slowly took a step behind Chouji, trying to hide herself from Hashirama.

"And Ravenclaw, Haruno"

"Tch.." Sakura lowered her head so far; her eyes were hidden behind her now red hair. She must have been mad.

"As for Slytherin…." Hashirama turned his head to the trio.

"Ms Uzumaki, Mr Hozuki…Have each earned your house twenty points for your courage and teamwork. As for Mr Uchiha…"

Hashirama looked Sasuke in the eye and had this kindest smile on his face. Sasuke had never seen a teacher looking so proud at him before.

"You have earned your house twenty-five points," he said. He held his hand out to his side and Sasuke's wand flew out of the lake and right in the headmaster's hand. He handed it back to Sasuke, giving the boy an encouraging nod. Sasuke took his wand back and looked at Suigetsu who ruffled up his hair.

'Well deserved!" Suigetsu said. He turned his head to Karin who stood slightly awkward next to them.

"Come here…" Suigetsu sighed, wrapping his other hand around her.

"Ew you reek of fish!" Karin pushed herself away from Suigetsu. Suigetsu looked surprised as he pulled his sleeve down and a fish fell from it and splattered on the ground. It caused the three Slytherins to laugh loudly.

"Your lunch break is coming to an end. I suggest you head to the castle and get changed while I make sure the Sea Serpent gets released in a more natural habitat" Hashirama said.

"Actually, it is an Kelpie." Naruto said hesitantly.

"Very well, Mr Uzumaki. You have earned yourself a point for Gryffindor." Hashirama said impulsively. He seemed to question his decision right away when he looked from Naruto to the captured monster.

"I should not be rewarding this boy…" Hashirama muttered as he turned to the lake while the students were heading back to the castle.

"Hey, now I only caused Gryffindor to lose 49 points' Naruto said, He got a punched in each shoulder by two of his friends.

"Aunt Kushina is going to pull you off Hogwarts" Karin said with a catty tone in her voice.

Naruto glared at his cousin and stuck his tongue out at her.

"Whatever four-eyes, I will still be a greater wizard than you ever be. Cuz I ain't no coward!"

"Did you not see her fight a Sea Serpent?" Suigetsu stopped walking and turned to Naruto.

"She made a boulder levitate and pushed it in the beast's mouth right before it was ready to eat me" Sasuke added.

"Trashcan only attacks when she is being attacked. And it is a Kelpie."

"Whatever, trashcan just gave us the lead in the house cup and brought you down to very last." Sasuke seemed quite amused by Naruto's pissed of reaction.

"Sucks to be you" Suigetsu said before the Slytherins took a left turn towards the dungeons and the Gryffindors took a right turn towards the stairs.


	5. Chapter 5

Sasuke's eyes shot open and sat up straight. He looked around him and could see nothing but the colour white. There we no doors, no windows. It was just one big white space.

He got up from the ground and looked at his hands before looking down at his body. He was wearing his leather boots, black tight jeans and his usual black shirt that revealed his collar bone under his dark grey hoodie that was slightly too big for him. He ran his hand down his hair, trying to move the bangs from his face. He felt something gently fall on the ground. He turned himself around and saw a black, pointy, hat. He wanted to pick it up, but it flew away from him. He walked behind it before seeing it land in front of someone's shoes.

Sasuke look up from the dark boots to the hooded figure in front of him. He was wearing a long dark blue cloak. He took a step back and reached for his wand, only to realize he didn't have it with him.

The man in front of him picked the hat up and dusted it off, even though nothing was on it. He held it gently with both his hands before offering the hat back to Sasuke.

Sasuke slowly let his guard down and he took a step closer and accepted the hat back from the man.

"Thank you…" He muttered slightly under his breath. He looked at the hat in his hands before putting it on.

"What is this place? A void?" Sasuke asked. "How do you get out?"

Sasuke reached his hands out to the side, trying to feel if there was anything invisible.

"Am…Am I death?" Sasuke put his hand on his chest to make sure he had still a heartbeat.

The mysterious man chuckled.

"Just dreaming…" He finally said. His voice sounded like he had been crying. Sasuke gave the man an concerned looked before eying the space around him.

"Wicked…" Sasuke turned his attention back to the man that had kept his eyes constantly on him.

"Who are you?"

"It is rude to ask somebody's name without introducing yourself," The man said, removing his hoody. It revealed his dark long hair, but his face were partly covered by a mask.

"I'm Sasuke Uchiha…And you are?" Sasuke sighed.

"Doesn't matter much…. You are just dreaming anyway" The man said, approaching Sasuke carefully.

"You must be twelve now…Second year in Hogwarts?" The man's hand gently held Sasuke face as he examined him thoroughly.

"You look just like…. Your mother…" The man noted. He seemed kind of awkward when he mentions Sasuke's mother.

"I do?" Sasuke asked. Somehow the man felt familiar, but he couldn't put his finger on where he had felt such familiar feeling before.

"What house are you in?" The man asked.

"Slytherin…" Sasuke answered honestly.

"Just like father…Your father…He was a Slytherin too" The man said. He seemed to have a hard time to keep his voice from shaking. Sasuke could see small tears roll over his cheek.

"You knew my dad?" Sasuke asked.

The man did not respond but proceeded to hug him tightly before kissing him on his hair.

"You are loved Sasuke…..They loved you so much…Everybody did." The man finally let go of Sasuke and walked away, leaving a confused Sasuke behind.

"Hey…Wait!" Sasuke followed him but did not manage to catch up to him.

"Who are you?! What do you know about me!?" Sasuke shouted, getting angry.

The man stopped and looked over his shoulder at Sasuke.

"I need answers….I need answers!" Sasuke said. The man proceeded to disappear.

"…No…No…Come back…COME BACK!" Sasuke shouted. The whiteness around him shattered and he felt like he was falling from an immense height down to what seemed like nothing. He could hear his name being said repeatedly. First by a soft woman's voice that felt very familiar and then by that of a man that had a very deep voice. Followed by that of what seemed like a teenager. The voiced came from everywhere. He had no idea who the voices belonged to. They were getting louder and unbearable to hear.

"Sasuke!"

"Sasuke!"

"SASUKE!"

Sasuke's eyes snapped open. He gasped but immediately coughed when he inhaled the thick smoke. He sat up and looked around him in a panicking way. He could feel somebody push a handkerchief over his mouth and nose and at first, he thought somebody was trying to kill him, but once his mind was all woken up he could feel Suigetsu grab him by his arm and pull him off his bed.

The room was covered in a dark green smoke. It seemed to come from everywhere and it was hard to determine what the source was. Everybody in the room was rushing out of the dungeons in a panic, others were just cursing from behind their covered faces as they just walked.

"Is that everybody?" Anko had her bra strapped around her face like a gas mask as she looked at Suigetsu and Sasuke. Suigetsu nodded as Sasuke was still slightly confused about the situation.

"From the second years, boy dormitory." Suigetsu clarified.

"Good. Go! Go!" She made it sound like a bomb was about to explode. She slapped Suigetsu on the back, almost pushing the boy on the ground. She did not know her own strength. One of the windows were open and a chair was put in front of it. A Prefect was standing there holding a first year's hand as he guided her outside of the window where a seventh-year student (Sasuke knew to be the Slyhterin quidditch captain, Zabuza ) helped her out.

The Prefect looked at Suigetsu and Sasuke and indicated for both to hurry.

"Through the window, now!" He raised his voice, but he didn't sound angry or impatient. He offered a hand, but Sasuke refused as he climbed out of the window and jumped out on the other side. Suigetsu followed soon after him. They both coughed once they remove the coverage from their faces before taking a deep breath.

"Bloody hell," Suigetsu panted as they quickly jogged towards the head boy who was indicated for them to come his way. It was dark outside, and the grass was cold against their feet. Lucky for them they both wore proper pyjamas which some of the older boys in their house had not and were now standing outside in their boxers, pretending to not feel the cold. Some of the girls wearing short pants or night dresses were not hiding how cold they were.

"Sasuke, Suigetsu…" The head boy said their names and looked at a list before nodding.

"That was all of them!" He shouted flicking his lumos on and off and then back on. Not soon after the others joined them on the field.

"Alright!" Anko clapped her hands to get everybody's attention.

"There has been an accident in our common room. We have no idea what it is or what is was. We don't know if it was a potion going wrong or somebody messing around with some prank item or somebody messing up a spell…" Anko's list went on and on.

"I bet you ten Sickles it was idiot and his band of morons" Sasuke hissed, folding his arm and sifting his weight from one leg to the other.

"Of course,…" Suigetsu said behind gritted teeth. He looked around the group before.

"Where is Karin?" He asked loudly.

"Karin!" Sasuke raised his voice to see if anybody would react to the name, but nobody did. They walked around before concluding she was indeed not outside.

"Anko, Anko…Where is Karin? We can't find Karin" Suigetsu grabbed her by her sleeve to get her attention.

"Karin…Karin…" Anko looked at the other prefect who looked at the list.

"There is no Karin on the list." He stated.

"Give me that!" Anko grabbed the list and then turned it around. "it is written on the back, you moron! Her name and five other names!"

"Did you even count?"

"Can you even count?"

"You moron!"

Most of the last year students were angry at the head boy. Who tried to defend himself, but was immediately dismissed by the others. They seem to make a rushed plan, screaming at one another and giving demands before two grabbed their wands and ran towards the open window, while the other ran towards the castle to probably inform a teacher. Only the one that messed up stayed behind.

Before any of them were out of sight the six missing people suddenly appeared outside. All of them looking clueless and in a mess. Some of them fell through their knees, coughing loudly as others were staring blindly in front of them.

"You guys are making it really easy to get mad." Professor Hatake suddenly appeared behind the girls holding a potion pot that was fuming, he threw it in the lake.

"Not only have you put lives in danger. You have ruined the Slytherin dungeons with your stupid, amateurship potion skills, you have given your Prefects and Headboy and girl a scare for their lives; made everybody stand in the cold and worst of all: you disturbed my sweet dream!"

The last part Kakashi seemed extra pissed at.

"it wasn't us!" Karin suddenly spoke up. Not looking at the teacher as she stared at the grass.

"We found it in the girl's bathroom and we were trying to make it stop…But it only became worse and worse!"

"Yes!" The other girl said, she too had scarlet red hair like Karin.

"We were trying to stop it" Another added.

"It was planted there. I bet it were the Gryffindor prankers!"

"There has never been any other house inside the dungeons of Slytherin. It cost you a thousand…No… A million points!" Kakashi shouted, causing every Slytherin to start speaking up.

"Shut up!" Sasuke shouted, getting everybody to stop arguing. He looked at Karin before looking at Kakashi.

"I will tell you one thing that Obito falls for and in exchange you will not take any points from our house" Sasuke bargained. Everybody seemed confused at first, but the moment they saw Kakashi considering it. They were all amazed.

"Answer ten of my questions, and we have a deal"

"Two questions." Sasuke seemed annoyed.

"Seven" Kakashi tried.

There was a silence between the two.

"Six" They both said and then nodded at one another.

"Right" A notebook appeared in Kakashi's hand. "What is his perfect date?"

"31st of November" Sasuke answered.

"I meant date as in going out. The thing you don't do very often" Kakashi sounded nonchalant.

"I am twelve," Sasuke reminded his head of house. "and it is Netflix and chilling"

"What is a Netflix and chill?" Kakashi wrote the answers down with a little pencil.

"It is like…going to the cinema" Sasuke answered.

"Favourite type of dinner?" Kakashi asked.

"Home cooked meals. Preferably something with peanuts ," Sasuke answered.

"What is his relationship history."

"He had only one girlfriend since he was 18 and married her when he was twenty and she died five years ago. He recently started dating a little, but they were not going so well according to him."

"What turns him on?"

"Professor Hatake!" Anko put her hands over Sasuke's ear. "He is just twelve years old!"

"Pfff..Fine!" With one simple movement of his wand, Anko was moved away from Sasuke.

"What do I do to date him? Do muggles have other ways of asking somebody out?"

Sasuke raised a questionable eyebrow before looking around him. His house was filled with half-bloods and full bloods. Neither of them knew a thing about muggles outside of muggle studies.

"We have a …. Mating dance," Sasuke put up his most serious face.

"A what?!" Everybody gave Sasuke a strange look.

"Yes….They have this dance called…The caramel dance. Muggles perform the dance in front of the person they like. If the muggle accepts…They go out."

"What is this…Caramel dance?" Kakashi looked intrigued. A few half-bloods were hiding their laughter behind their hands.

"I don't know it. We get taught this dance on our sixteenth birthday. You will have to research it. In the muggle world. There are machines that have a lot of information. You can find them at libraries. I am sure they allow you to look it up there if you ask the librarian first. After Obito has accepted your dance…Then you must duel his closest relative. Obito is an orphan, so you will have to fight me."

"A magic fight?" Kakashi asked.

"Well muggles mostly use swords, but we could do magic. It is a bit untraditional, but I allow it." Sasuke said.

"So I kept my part of the bargain." He reminded his teacher.

"Alright….Ten points from Slytherin." Kakashi said

"WHAT?!" Everybody started arguing again with the professor.

"Suuusssshhh!" Kakashi hissed, "It is not for what happened. It is for Sasuke willingly selling out his foster dad to keep a few points. You are a ruthless, boy" Kakashi turned around and indicated for everybody to follow him. "Although I would sell you all to the devil for a corn chip…"

"Well you did save us from losing the house cup. Sorry you had to exploit your dad for it." Suigetsu walked right next to Sasuke.

"Pff please.' Netflix and chill' is slang for putting out, he is allergic to peanuts and there is no such thing as a mating dance and a duel." Sasuke said, walking behind everybody else. "I am glad he didn't take 50 points".

"Thank you for that. I was afraid we were going to be last in the House Cup. It was so nice to win from Gryffindor last year and rub it in my cousin's face!" Karin said, walking next to them. "Besides, I only tried to stop it from suffocating the entire dungeon!"

"That does raise the question who actually did it?" Suigetsu questioned.

"I bet it was my stupid cousin" Karin hissed, "he had some beef with some Slytherins the past few days."

"We all suffered from this stupid prank" Suigetsu said annoyed. "I thought he specifically targeted his victims in that stupid justice thing he and his friends do."

"Maybe he was mad at entire Slytherin…" Sasuke looked ahead of him, "If nobody is going to do shit about their pranks it could end with somebody dying."

"What are you suggesting?" Karin asked nervously.

"We take revenge…." Sasuke said with a sinister look in his eyes.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Sasuke was standing next to his bed. Holding his wand between his teeth as a potion book was levitating in front of him. He was brushing his hair which was quite the task since it was mostly messy.

"Come on, we are late for breakfast," Suigetsu said, putting his uniform on.

Due the smoke Slytherin house had to move to one of the towers while the house-elves were supposed to clean their common room, but even with all the magic it was still going to take time to get everything ready. The tower was nothing like the dungeons. In Sasuke's opinion the dungeons were a lot prettier.

The tower had grey walls, the floor creaked. The beds were placed in a circle. There were only 1 by 1 meter windows between every 2 beds and the curtains were hideous. They had climb four sets of stairs to get to their bed with the first floor being their new common room that had barley anything. A lot of Slytherins were very angry about the whole ordeal, but there was nothing they could do about it.

"Stupid right? My idiot cousin damages our common room and we get relocated to this dump," Karin leaned against the door frame of the boy's dormitory.

"Uhu" Sasuke threw the hairbrush on the bed and grabbed his wand out of his mouth.

"I can't stand these curtains," Sasuke said, moving his wand causing the curtains to move aside from the window. His expression immediately darkened and both Karin and Suigetsu gave each other a strange look before walking towards Sasuke and looked what he was frowning at.

Right in front of their new bedrooms was the room of the third year Gryffindors and showing his bare ass in front of the window to welcome the Slytherins was Dog Breath while Golilocks and Tall-boy were laughing in the background.

"HOPE YOU LIKE THE VIEW, SLYTHER-SCUM!" Kiba shouted from the window.

"I am going to curse him" Sasuke wanted to take a step forward, but both Karin and Suigetsu pulled him back.

"They are provoking you! " Suigetsu immediately said.

"They want us to lose points" Karin added, "They can't take we won the cup last year."

"I hate them!" Sasuke finally turned his back to the window he was just about to put his wand away.

"Yeah cowards, walk away!" Kiba shouted, "This is Gryffindor space!"

Suigetsu and Karin shared a quick glance before nodding at Sasuke.

"We are going to destroy them" All three of them said at once.

They headed down the many stairs before reaching the great hall where breakfast was already served. The entire Slytherin table looked moody and annoyed while the other houses were whispering about what had happened last night. Some theories flew around, but the most liked one was that Naruto and his friends have claimed some sort of justice for one of the Slytherins that hexed their Sakura during some sort of falling out. She was sent to the nurse where she had stayed for a couple of days now.

Sasuke looked over at the Gryffindor's table, seeing Naruto and Kiba laugh. Naruto looked up, sensing somebody staring at him. He quickly made eye contact with Sasuke glared at him. Naruto didn't seem to mind as he winked and had a cocky smile on his face.

"Mail arrived" Suigetsu said, causing Sasuke to look up. He saw his hawk make every owl feel embarrassed by her speed. She dived down and landed on Sasuke's empty plate. Sasuke gently petted his hawk.

"Don't be too obvious" Sasuke whispered to Suigetsu who was looking at the package the hawk carried with her. Sasuke grabbed the small package from the hawk and the letter.

"You did wonderful, girl" Sasuke whispered to the hawk, giving her a well-deserved pat on the head before allowing her to drink from his cup. He could feel Naruto look at their table. Not sure if his eyes were on his hawk or on the package Sasuke received. He put the package on his lap, away from everybody's sight. He pulled a dinosaur plushie from it and put it on the table like it was the only thing that was in the package meanwhile he quickly hid a small bottle in his pocket.

"What is that bottle? Is that the muggle stuff that makes you-"

"Yes" Sasuke said, not looking at Suigetsu as he answered. Last night he had send his hawk to deliver Obito a letter where he had explained he was having some problems in his bowel movements and needed a laxative since the magical world did not seem to have any sort of medicine that worked for him. Of course it was a lie, he had other plans with the medicine.

"Your foster dad is like super sweet" Suigetsu said, reading the letter over Sasuke's shoulder.

"Yeah, I almost feel bad for lying to him" .

"Why the plushie tho?" Karin asked, "you look like a big baby."

Sasuke gave her a satisfied look, it made Karin only more confused of what purpose the plushie had.

"Nice dinosaur, Uchiha!" Kiba shouted from the Gryffindor table.

Karin turned her head to him, seeing Kiba high fived Naruto as they both were sniggering.

"Keep to the plan" Sasuke whispered to Suigetsu who nodded

"Got a problem, Dog Breath?" Sasuke said.

Kiba's face turned immediately angry, especially since two of his friends were laughing at the comment.

"Oh yeah. I can do something about my breath but you-"

"Then what is taking you? Is brushing your teeth not something wolf's teach their young? You were raised in the forest, right? The dirt on your face confirms that," Sasuke interrupted Kiba. Some other people stopped talking to listen in on the conversation and others were chuckling by the comment.

"You…Your hair looks like a duck's ass!" Kiba looked around his table for some approval which he got from some people.

"Thank you, I was going for that look. I see you were going for savage?"

Everybody started laughing, causing Kiba to turn red.

"Yeah, very brave talking shit from there. Come here and I show you what a broken nose feels like!" Kiba clenched a fist.

"Oh, oh…Very well then" Sasuke got up from the Slytherin table and walked towards that of the Gryffindors'.

"Move" He moved his wand , causing the girl next to Kiba to move to the side as Sasuke sat between them.

"Damn, I can't believe I had to actually come to you. You know most people who want to punch somebody in the nose walk towards them."

Sasuke sighed deeply.

"Well, I did you a solid" he leaned his elbow on the table. 'Come on, Dog Breath, punch me in the face as you were so eagerly shouting through the hall."

"Don't do it, Kiba," Shikamaru said in a bored voice.

"it is not worth it. You will just get in trouble," Chouji added

"AAah~ well…I guess it is true what they say" Sasuke stood up from the table, "Barking dogs seldom bite" he looked down on Kiba who groaned.

His friends tried to calm him down, but the boy stood up from the bench and was ready to punch Sasuke in his face. But Sasuke leaned back, causing the fist to miss him. He grabbed Kiba's wrist and used his free hand to grab him by the back of the neck and push his face down on the table in front of him while pulling his arm behind his back.

Kiba moved his head so his nose wouldn't hit the table, but his jaw did, and it hurt the boy enough to make him moan pathetically.

Naruto, Shikamaru and Couji stood up and pulled their wands out, causing a bunch of the Slytherins to stand up from their table and point the wands at them.

"Wow. Wow. Wow!" Suigetsu approached the Gryffindor's table.

"We don't all want to get in trouble now, do we?" He said, putting his hands up in an innocent way.

"Why don't we…All just…calm down…drink some water….Take a breath" Suigetsu said. Sasuke released Kiba who immediately wanted to tackle Sasuke, but Chouji pulled Kiba back while his friends tried to talk some sense into him. Suigetsu stood in between Kiba and Sasuke, covering the Uchiha as Sasuke emptied the small bottle inside the jug of juice before putting it back in his pocket.

"Yeah! Suigetsu is right. Let's just…Take a breath" Sasuke said, looking from Naruto to Shikamaru.

"It is just a plushie after all," Sasuke said before returning to his table. He sat down and saw the Gryffindors sitting down. Kiba grabbed the jug as he poured himself a drink and drank it in a few gulps. Not soon after the others followed him.

Sasuke and Suigetsu fist bumped each other.

Their first lesson of the day was over and the Slytherin trio were making their way up the stairs to go to their next lessons.

"You think it worked? I mean, I don't know what to expect and all, but….Shouldn't we at least be there to laugh?" Suigetsu asked as Karin agreed with him by nodding her head.

"All in good time" Sasuke stopped in front of the boy's bathroom and pointed his wand to the lock. The door locked itself and Sasuke took a step aside and he looked at his wrist, pretending he wore some sort of watch. He tapped his wand on his wrist, indicating the seconds passing by.

"Any minute now," Sasuke said as he walked half way up the stairs.

"Any minute and we are late for class," Karin said and pushed her hair behind her shoulder as she stuck her nose in the air and walked towards their next class.

"Yeah, Sasuke we gotta go to charms" Suigetsu said he moved his leg to walk the other half of the stairs, but he suddenly heard a few heavy objects fall in the hall. He looked down the railing and saw three of the four Gryffindor's prankers run towards the restroom. Their faces were pale and sweating; their butts clenched while making the most uncomfortable faces they could possibly make.

"Guys! What is going on! Dattebayo!" Naruto was far behind them; he was jogging to keep up with them.

Kiba tried to pull the door open of the restroom, but it was locked. He desperately started pushing against it.

"I CAN'T HOLD IT!" He screamed.

"Out of my way!" Chouji pointed his wand at the door, but instead of doing a simple spell to unlock the door he blasted it out. They ran inside and Suigetsu and Sasuke could hear their relieved moans and a lot of disturbing noises.

"You guys?!" Naruto stood in the door opening, looking rather concerned and a little disgusted by the loud noises of his friends doing their business.

Sasuke and Suigetsu were laughing loudly from up the stairs. Suigetsu held the railing with both hands as he almost sacked through his knees. Sasuke had to wrap his arms around his stomach; it was starting to hurt.

Naruto looked up from the stairs and at first he was just confused. It took him a good minute of staring at the Slytherins to know they were the ones behind it.

"Hey!" Naruto finally called out, snapping Suigetsu and Sasuke out of their laughing spree.

"Run," Suigetsu said and both Sasuke and Suigetsu rushed up the stairs, but Naruto was running right behind him. The Slytherins were running up and down the stairs just before they each took a different direction to run at. Suigetsu ran up a stairs while Sasuke slit down the railing. They both turned their heads around, realizing they were not in sync anymore and Naruto was left to impulsively choose who to chase after.

Sasuke jumped off the railway and looked behind him to see that Naruto had chosen him.

"Ah shit!" Sasuke said out loud as he headed for the door. He pulled his wand out and pointed it at the floor

"Glacius!"

The floor had a layer of ice on it and Naruto didn't seem to hesitate when he used to ice to slide over before jumping off it.

"That is just not fair!" Sasuke hissed as he looked over his shoulder, he had to quickly move his head when Naruto pulled his wand out and tried to hex Sasuke. Instead of running in a straight line, Sasuke started zig zagging around, hoping Naruto wouldn't manage to hit him. But the spells were coming dangerously close.

Sasuke ran past the broom shed, seeing the door open and a dozen broomstick inside.

"Accio broomstick!" Sasuke said, catching the broom stick with his other hand. He didn't hesitate as he jumped on it and flew away.

"Oh now you are going to get it!" Naruto shouted, using the same spell to grab a broom stick and chase after Sasuke.

"Didn't think this through, eh?!" Naruto shouted catching up to Sasuke. He was one of Gryffindor's best chaser in the Quidditch team. He had a cocky smile on his face as he could see Sasuke look at him from over his shoulder. Naruto laughed, he seemed to be enjoying the cat and mouse game.

"Maybe!" Sasuke said as he looked back in front of him.

"Or not!" Sasuke quickly made his broom dive down, made half a circle upside down and came back from behind Naruto.

"Holy-" Naruto had to make a sharp turn with his broom and change directions, leaving them with a bigger distance between them than before.

"You Slytherins are so slick! Dattebayo!" Naruto shouted, he was getting closer. Only now a bludger almost knocked him off his broom. He looked down at the quidditch field, seeing the captain of the Slytherin team, Zabuza, opening the box with balls. He didn't apologize as he was blocking the sun out of his eyes with his hand and was looking at the chase between Naruto and Sasuke. He seemed very intrigued.

"You should keep your eyes open, Uzumaki!" Sasuke laughed.

"You should keep your mouth shut!" Naruto shouted, he was flying almost next to Sasuke, he was almost close enough to just jerk the broom stick from under Sasuke.

"Ha! Like I would ever listen to your dumb face!" Sasuke suddenly started coughing when a fly flew straight in his mouth.

"Yeah insect!" Naruto laughed.

Sasuke face turned red and he tried to kick Naruto, but his leg was too short to reach.

"Ha!" Naruto wanted to laugh at the attempts of Sasuke kicking him off, but he just managed to kick Naruto's hand.

"Fuck!" Naruto pulled his hand back before he grabbed his wand. He tried to knock the broom from under Sasuke, but he couldn't get a clear shot at it. Sasuke looked behind his shoulder and reached for his wand with other hand, but just when he got it Naruto had disarmed him with a disarming spell.

Naruto laughed, seeing the exact moment when Sasuke face realize that he was done for.

"Got you now, dattebayo!" Naruto had a good aim at Sasuke's back. It was now or never.

Just before Naruto could move his wand a bulger suddenly crashed on the top of his broomstick, breaking it in two and leaving him with nothing to hold. He let go of his wand and he tried to grab it in the air, but he couldn't. Naruto screamed as he was falling face first towards the ground.

The grass was coming closer and closer and Naruto closed his eyes waiting for the crushing impact of his fall, wondering if he would even survive such heights. He felt something suddenly grab the back of his shirt and he coughed when he felt is collar pressed against his throat.

"I got you!" Sasuke shouted his one hand grabbing Naruto's collar and he tried to come to a full stop with his broom. But he couldn't hang on to his broom while holding Naruto. His hand was trying to hold on, but he was sliding off the broom by the weight he had to hold.. He couldn't keep going on very long. He ended up letting go, causing both Naruto and Sasuke to fall one and a half meter to the ground. They rolled on the grass before both lying on their backs. Lucky for them Sasuke did managed to lighten the fall by slowing them down and getting as close to the ground as possible.

"That. Was…" Naruto leaned on his elbows, "Epic!"

Sasuke looked at Naruto from the corner of his eyes before cracking a smile. He sat up in the grass before looking around the field. He could see the same bludger that hit Naruto fly in the sky.

"Why was I chasing you again…" Naruto tapped his finger on his chin before remembering.

"You poisoned my friends!" He pointed an accusing finger at Sasuke. Sasuke grabbed Naruto's finger and bended it, causing the Gryffindor to squirm.

"I didn't. I gave them….A taste of their own medicine" Sasuke had a proud smile on his face. He knew if Obito was here, he would have found his joke hilarious.

"They are shitting their bowls out !" Naruto said.

"It is just some medicine! " Sasuke defended himself, "They should be fine!"

"Why would you do something like that! Is it because Kiba called you out for you plushie?" Naruto followed Sasuke's example and stood up. He rubbed his left shoulder slightly since it hurt him. He quickly scanned the field and found his wand a few feet away from him.

"What? No…My plushie is super cool," Sasuke said, looking around the field for his wand.

"I did that because of the prank you guys pulled on the Slytherin dungeons. We had a nice thing going on there and you guys ruined it. Now we are stuck in the tower right next to yours." Sasuke quickly found his wand and jogged towards it. He picked it up from the grass before turning around to Naruto. He seemed clueless.

"What prank?" Naruto asked.

"Don't act stupid. The pot, the potion, all the smoke."

Naruto still seemed extremely clueless.

"I have never been inside the dungeons. I don't think anybody has since the beginning of times."

"But…If it wasn't you …Then…."

Suddenly both Naruto and Sasuke's eyes widened when they realised the real criminal.

"Karin" They both said at the same time. They looked at one another.

"Ha, she played you!" Naruto said, sticking his tongue out.

"She played us both!" Sasuke shouted. "She made me take revenge on you dummies! She made you chase me across the school and probably caused us both detention for not going to our lessons!"

"Well…She is as mean as she looks" Naruto narrowed his eyes.

"How come you weren't affected by the medicine? I saw you drink from the jug" Sasuke said, putting his wand away.

Naruto didn't answer Sasuke as he looked at the sky. He seemed to be focussed on something. His eyes were sparkling like he saw something fantastic. Sasuke snapped his fingers several times to wake Naruto up from his daydream, but Naruto only looked at Sasuke when the hawk that was flying above the field now landed on his shoulder.

"Is she yours!" Naruto suddenly exclaimed as he came dangerously close.

"She is…" Sasuke said. His hawk seemed exhausted and he could tell immediately when he saw a letter bonded on her ankle. He grabbed it and opened it.

" _Dear Sasuke,_

 _I hope you are alright now that you have the medicine. Everything is fine here. I got promoted to detective. I hope you will come this Christmas to celebrate at Chuck E. Cheese, or are you thinking you are too old for it?_

 _Anyway, I was wondering why your teacher was dancing the caramel dance in front of the house this morning? It was a very weird sight and somehow I can't seem to help myself but to assume you had something to do with this? Please tell him to back off as he didn't seem to get the message when I turned the sprinklers on. I don't know why he suddenly started singing 'It is raining men' It almost seemed like he thought it was a good thing. I am starting to feel very sorry for the wizarding world._

 _With many hugs and kisses,_

 _Obito'_


	6. Chapter 6

It was the end of the week and Sasuke was staring at the grey sealing, lost in thoughts. He didn't want to get up; he had missed breakfast anyway. It didn't seem like there was any use to get up now. He turned his head to see if Suigetsu had woken up. He had not. He looked at the other beds and saw they were empty. It seemed most of the boys had left the dormitory since breakfast.

"Are you two still in bed" Karin stood -once again- in the door opening. She walked inside when she saw the only two people left in the room were Suigetsu and Sasuke.

Suigetsu turned himself around and put his pillow over his head to muffle Karin's voice.

"You two are not going to stay here till noon, are you?" She asked as she pulled the curtains away and opened the window between Suigetsu's and Sasuke's beds.

"Come on you two lazy buffoons," she used her wand to make a quick swing, causing Suigetsu blankets to get pulled away from him. He groaned and proceeded to turn his back to Karin.

"Come on!" She said loudly as she now approached Suigetsu's bedside and kicked him out of the bed herself. Sasuke sat up and watched the scene.

"You have a quidditch game. What are you doing?"

"I am a substitute" Sasuke recalled. "Remember, I never signed up for try-outs and the only reason why Zabuza even notice me last week was because your cousin chased me for something you did."

"I never told you to put that muggle stuff in their drinks and take revenge" Karin put her nose in the air and was determined of her answer.

"We are Slytherins. It is in our blood!" Suigetsu got up from the ground, "what were you brewing anyway and why do none of your girls want to tell it?"

"Blessing in a disguise! I got you in the quidditch team, didn't I?" She said as she sat down on Sasuke's bed side since his bed seemed to be much cleaner than Suigetsu's.

"I never asked you to-"

"I am brilliant, I know" She interrupted Sasuke.

"It doesn't even matter. Neji Hyuuga is seeker. I am just a substitute watching from the side line and it sucks."

"He is such a stuck-up prick. He should have done what is best for the team and be the substitute. During all the practices you caught the snitch before him " Suigetsu stated.

"He did at least sign up for try-outs. Sasuke didn't even bothered to. Also, Sasuke just joined last week." Karin said, feeling Sasuke leg move under the blankets. He had just resisted the urge the kick her off his bed.

"It doesn't matter now does it? Last year we lost against Gryffindor because he didn't catch the snitch." Suigetsu said, "though he did try pretty hard…It is hard to blame him for it…"

Suigetsu shook his head to wake himself up.

"That is not the point. The point is that he wants the title of Slytherin's seeker to look better. He doesn't care about the team, he only cares about himself-"

"That's basically entire Slytherin, Suigetsu" Sasuke interrupted him before getting up from the bed.

"Maybe he has the urge the show-off and brag with titles and achievements. I am just lucky being alive….literally" Sasuke voiced his thoughts, "Besides, I know my dad loves me besides the achievement."

"I thought your father was brutally murdered by your bro-"

"My foster dad!" Sasuke hissed, "I was very clear about that- Auw!" Sasuke rubbed the side of his head as the apple that had hit him bounced off and into Karin's hands.

Sasuke looked angerly at the window, seeing Naruto sit on the window sill with his legs hanging outside.

"Suigetsu, hand me my wand!" Sasuke hissed, "see if morons can fly!" He shouted out of the window.

Naruto laughed, he was already wearing his quidditch uniform. He had a bobby pin in his hair, keeping his bangs from getting in his eyes.

"I'm doing you a favour. I'm feeding you vitamins and stuff. My mom says it is important!" He laughed.

"Did your mom not teach you not the throw things at people's heads!" Sasuke shouted. Karin looked away, slightly embarrassed, knowing the answer to that question.

"Yeah, she taught me how to throw them." Naruto chuckled before pulling his legs up an turning around to climb back inside, "see you at the field, dattebayo".

"You know I am substitute!" Sasuke hissed, turning his head to Suigetsu, "where is my wand!"

"Oh…You haven't heard?" Naruto leaned outside the window. Sasuke looked confused.

"Hyuuga got a very nasty stomach bug. He is at Lady Shizune's now. So, I guess his substitute must play now." Naruto grabbed an apple from a small basket and tossed it around in his hand.

"I bet a lot of people suspect the Gryffindor's to be behind it. Since we are the ones playing against you. However, if you ask me it was probably a Slytherin." He took a bite out of the apple.

"A red haired, sneaky, little witch." Naruto looked passed Sasuke at his cousin who folded her legs and just looked away.

"Karin…" Suigetsu said her name in surprise and shock. He seemed pretty impressed.

"I don't know what you are talking about" She said stubbornly.

"Yeah, I saw my dear cousin sneak in the kitchen. How long did It take to figure out the coordination of every dish before you dared to poison Hyuuga?" Naruto asked. "I am impressed."

"It was easy-" her cocky smile immediately disappeared when she figured out she confessed to her crime.

"Karin…" Suigetsu and Sasuke both said.

"I must say, cousin. For the first time, I am kinda proud of you" Naruto said.

"Go away! Half-blood!"

"At least my dad stuck around!" Naruto closed the window and curtains.

Both Suigetsu and Sasuke looked at Karin who seemed pissed off. She finally noticed the stares she was getting.

"W-what! He was being selfish! I was thinking about the quidditch cup and our house!" She defended her actions.

"I put a drowsiness potion in his cup of water next to his bed yesterday night," Suigetsu confessed. "I thought I caused him to go to lady Shizune…"

"You guys!" Sasuke put his hands on his hips. He looked angry at first but he couldn't keep the frown up.

"…I…I was planning on casting a confusion spell on him before the game…" He whispered.

All three of them started laughing out loud.

They headed for lunch where Zabuza quickly stood up from the table and indicated Sasuke to come to him. Sasuke parted from his friends and headed to the top of the table where the quidditch players were sitting.

"Where have you been this morning?" Zabuza hissed, he seemed slightly angry. "We were going over tactics".

"I didn't think I was going to play this game…I just found out this morning that Neji was feeling ill-"

"Of course he is feeling ill!" Zabuza hissed as he looked around him. "I put a drowsiness potion in his water to make sure he wouldn't be able to play. I don't care if you didn't come to try-outs or whatever. I want to see the Gryffindors' cry when we beat them!" He hissed, looking over his shoulder at the Gryffindor team.

"Oh…Alright…Did anybody else in this team try to get Neji to not play?" Sasuke asked and to his surprise he saw two more hands raise in the air.

"Guys…We might have killed the Hyuuga…." He looked over at Suigetsu and Karin before looking at his team.

"We meant for him to feel ill…Not to go to Lady Shizune" The twins whispered.

"Next time…Maybe we just take a vote on it instead of poisoning team-members?" Sasuke asked, causing a few head to nod. They were talking techniques and manoeuvres and Zabuza insisted Sasuke to eat a lot before the game. Though Anko warned him not to because it could cause him to puke. Where one of the beaters said it was good as long as the puke hit one of the Gryffindors.

Finally the hour of the game broke down and Sasuke flew to the field and was surprised he did not only see students and teachers, he saw a lot of unfamiliar faces.

"Who are…they?" Sasuke asked, pointing at the tribune with a lot of adults that where not teachers.

"Parents. Look, there are mine" Anko said, pointed at a purple haired lady who smiled and waved at her daughter. Sasuke looked around the crowd and saw a few familiar faces between the parents. One of them being the lady who helped him get through the magic barrier at platform nine and ten and a blond man that had chased some creep away back in Diagon Ally. Minato Namikaze…If he remembered correctly. He recognised Karin's mother next to the red haired lady. She did not have any glasses and looked almost like Karin, only the lady was a bit chubby and had a rounder face. It appeared the three came together. Could it be they were in fact related somehow?

"You must be bloody nervous"

Sasuke woke up from his thoughts when he looked at the beaters of his tean.

"Aren't ya?"

The twins, Sakon and Udon said.

"Nah, you guys shouldn't have poisoned your original seeker" Sasuke said with a rather cocky look on his face. "it really not my fault if we lose. But if we win it is my victory."

"Stupid-" Sakon said

"-Bitch" Udon completed.

They flew off to join the half of the circle that the Slytherin's were forming around the trunk that contained all the balls. The commenter started talking, but Sasuke didn't really pay attention to it until he heard his name coming from the speakers.

"Turns out the usual seeker of the Slyterhins, Neji Hyuuga, is out cold for this game and now in the care of lady Shizune. Substituting for him is, of course, Sasuke Uchiha. The last Uchiha we will ever witness in these fields-"

"Ino…You don't have to make it dramatic," Tobirama said giving her an annoyed look.

"Yes, professor.." Ino looked in her notes, "ah yeah fun fact, Sasuke Uchiha comes from a long line of good quidditch player. There was the legendary chaser, Shisui Uchiha, from Hufflepuff who had turned down going pro to persuade his passion for….Ancient dragons…Dragons?! Have I written this down correctly?" Ino looked at Sakura who just nodded quickly.

"Also he is dead, so why are we even mentioning him?" Sakura whispered, unaware the mic picked it up.

"Also there was a very good seeker….From Ravenclaw. His name was I…Ita…Itachi-"

"Bless you" Sakura said, her loud stem was echoed 10 times as loud through the speakers.

"Enough!" Tobriama grabbed the notes from the two and burned them in his hand before the ashes fell on the floor. "Just comment on the game!" He demanded.

Sasuke exhaled deeply before turning his head back to the field. Might Guy was standing next to the trunk and looked at the players hovering above him.

"I want a fair game. From both houses!" He shouted. He opened the trunk causing the two bludgers to jump out and soon after came the golden snitch that as quick as he was seen also disappeared.

Might Guy grabbed the quaffel and he threw it high in the air. For a mere second it was pure chaos. Green and Red were flying everywhere. Naruto quickly flew by like a golden and red blur and grabbed quaffel. He didn't look behind his shoulder to see who was after him. Following him were Zabuza and Tayuga, gaining up on him. Naruto smirked and suddenly threw the quaffel behind him, over his shoulder before diving down, flying half a circle upside down before picking up the quaffel from behind the two Slytherin chasers. Zabuza and Tayuga dove down and were too late to notice Naruto's slick move. It was up to Anko to stop him, but Naruto was already close enough to the hopes and scored the first goal for Gryffindor.

The crowd was cheering as others were painfully looking away.

Naruto flew around, sticking his fist up the air as he cheered.

"Tch…Copycat" Sasuke hissed. He quickly dodged a bludger that was aimed at his head. Sasuke looked at the bludger passing him by before looking at the direction it came from. It was Kiba, holding the bat proudly.

"What is it Dog Breath? Got no shit to give anymore?" Sasuke shouted from across the field. He could see Kiba get angry and he held his bat up to just ram Sasuke with it in the head.

Sasuke flew away while Kiba was flying after him. Sasuke scanned the field. He knew where the quaffel was, the players. Where the blugers were and what direction they were going.

Sasuke smirked seeing a bludger head straight for him. He pulled up, causing the bludger to hit Kiba right in the head before he fell down his broom onto the sand pit.

The crowd gasped, and some of them closed their eyes. It was a very ugly hit, but well…He was chasing after Sasuke instead of focussing on the bludgers.

Sasuke couldn't help but to look pleased before getting back in the game. He could see Naruto looking at his friend getting carried away from the field to go to lady Shizune. He looked up at Sasuke. Naruto shook his head, disapproving. But how annoyed could a guy be who scored 30 points for Gryffindor in less than 15 minutes?

Sasuke had to catch the snitch fast before Naruto managed to score 140 points. He flew around, observing his surroundings. It seemed the snitch did not show himself to Sasuke's frustrations. He looked over the Gryffindor seeker, who was just like Sasuke, searching around the field.

And there it was. A small golden ball in the middle of the field. Sasuke looked at it wings slowly moving up and down. He frowned…He did not remember the snitch moving so slow. He looked around the field. It almost seemed nobody was moving, not the crowd, not the players not even the bludgers. Even he couldn't managed to simply move his arm or blink for that matter. He stopped breathing, suddenly feeling anxious and panicky.

Suddenly everything turned back to normal. Sasuke almost fell forward but managed to grab tightly around his broom. He looked ahead of him and now, flying much faster, was the golden snitch. Sasuke shook himself awake before going after the snitch. He flew towards it, dodging a few of the players in the field. He flew left before flying right. One of the Slytherin players were flying right at him. Sasuke jumped off his broom as Zabuza passed under him. He landed back on his broom.

Sasuke was relieved before moving his arm sideward. He flew right past the snitch and grabbed it with his left hand. He felt the golden ball in his hand. He abruptly stopped his broom in the middle of the chaos, and looked inside his hand, making sure that he had caught the snitch. He looked at the wings slowly coming to a stop.

"Sasuke Uchiha has caught the golden snitch. He had earned 150 points for Slytherin making Slytherin the winner!" Ino shouted. The Slytherins were cheering while many of the Gryffindor's look very disappointed. Literally three second ago they were 50 – 0 ahead and now they were a 100 points behind and lost.

The Slytherin team flew towards Sasuke all of them hugging him and almost knocking him off his broom. Once on the ground they picked him up, almost showing him off like he was the trophy before singing "Quidditch is our bitch, Uchiha lets us win!"

Sasuke smiled, holding the snitch up. The Slytherins did not show mercy as they walked around the Gryffindor team, and even became more annoying when they blocked Naruto's way and kept singing their song as they walked circles around him.

"Fuck off!" Naruto hissed, throwing his broom on the field as he pushed a few guys away from him and headed with the rest of his team to the changing room.

"Party at our shitty tower!" Zabuza shouted and their team finally dismantled.

"Uhm….Captain.." Sasuke coughed. "You can take me off your shoulders now…" He said running his free hand through his hair. Anko helped him off, but not before giving him a big kiss on his cheeks.

"Quiddtich is our bitch, Uchiha lets us win" She sang, pushing Sasuke's head in her breasts as she wrapped her hands around his head.

"Lucky bastard," Udon said to his twin brother.

Sasuke's cheeks turned red as he pushed himself away from her. He rushed to the changing room and got dressed. He was rather slow as most of his team were already done and gone. They were probably getting food and drinks for the shitty party in their shitty new tower. Sasuke put his quidditch robes in his bag before turning around. He almost drew his wand if the strange man's eyes were not familiar to him.

"Are you Neji's dad?" Sasuke asked the man that had come to the changing room. "He is sick."

"Sasuke Uchiha, last time I had seen you, you were just a little boy hiding behind your father." The man came closer to Sasuke even though Sasuke did not hide his irritation.

"I guess I don't have a dad to hide behind anymore" Sasuke said. His hand reached inside his bag and wrapped around his wand.

"I am Hiashi Hyuuga"

"I am Don't-Care…junior" He could see the man hide his displeasure behind a fake kind face.

"I used to be close friend with your family. Especially your father, Fugaku Uchiha. You used to call me Uncle and play in the yard with my daughter, Hinata" Hiashi said, ignoring Sasuke's rude comment.

"Hmmm" Sasuke narrowed his eyes, pretending to think deeply.

"Oh yea!" He snapped his fingers. The man looked relieved for a second.

"You were that uncle that never existed. I mean my brother slaughtered my family and I ended up in the muggle world and guess what…" Sasuke walked passed the man towards the door. "No uncle whatever anywhere in this story." He said, looking over his shoulder as he reached for the door handle . He could hear the door suddenly lock and he lowered his hands before turning himself around to the men.

"I don't know what you think is appropriate, but where I come from an old man locking a minor in a changing room is a serious offense-"

"Listen!" It seemed Hiashi didn't allow the attitude any longer.

His voice was angry, but it was hidden well in the strictness. Sasuke turned around and saw Hiashi holding his wand in a casual, yet with an underlying threatening manner.

"Nobody dares to speak to the head of the Hyuuga clan with such disrespect and get away with it."

Sasuke saw some weird veins around the man's eyes pop up. He felt strange and uneasy.

"You are no better than a filthy mudblood. Knowing no respect for the magical world. Know your place!" The man said. Sasuke remained quiet. He had no idea what to say to this man.

"Your clan is dead, gone!" Hiashi began and Sasuke frowned at this.

"The most powerful wizarding clan of all time are the Hyuugas and if you wish to have a place in this world you better watch your mouth." His voice slowly calmed down. The anger was gone… There was only spite now.

"Of course….I can't blame you." He started, "You were raised by filthy muggles. You were deemed to turn into such….Disappointment. Your father would be ashamed. Naturally it's the ministry's fault for not allowing us to take you in our mids."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. His hand painfully tight around his wand. He wanted to curse the man in front of him. He was ready to draw his wand out, but he could hear the lock from the door open and not soon after the red-haired woman stuck her head inside.

"Excuse me…" She took a quick look around, and by the sight of nobody getting dressed she opened the door completely. Sasuke took a few steps away from the door, standing in the middle of Hiashi and now the red haired lady. She frowned and had a questionable look on her face.

"Hiashi Hyuuga, I haven't seen you around during a quidditch match before" She said.

"Kushina Uzumaki, pleasure seeing you again. How is your son? True to the Uzumaki name?" He asked. There was a mocking undertone in his voice.

Naruto was a half-blood, Sasuke knew this because Karin used it as an insult towards her cousin. The Uzumakis were originally a pure-blood clan but were stripped of the title when her aunt apparently married a muggle-born and had a son with him.

"He takes after me, a bit too much. I was hoping he would at least take after his father when it comes to spells and studying." Kushina mentioned, ignoring the mocking tone from the Hyuuga.

"As if …" Hiashi scoffed in an insulting manner, and by that mere second Kushina's personality suddenly took an 180 degrees turn as she now almost resembled a lioness ready to eat him.

"I beg your pardon, Hiashi" She said, cocking her head slightly to the left, clenching a fist. The anxious and uncomfortable feeling from before suddenly tripled. There was this slight reddish glow around the woman. Her hair slightly moved under her pointy, purple hat even though there was no wind in the changing room.

"I mean…Of course…I don't…" Hiashi tried to hide his fear, but did a poor job.

All the anger Sasuke had felt towards the Hyuuga were suddenly gone, seeing him almost piss his pants. Sasuke was tempted to ask what a mudblood was by the lady and obliviously mentioning that the man had called him that. He wondered how pissed she would get.

"I didn't mean…" He stopped talking when he heard Sasuke chuckle. He looked down at Sasuke, getting pretty pissed. "I shall teach you some manners later," he whispered, unaware the woman in front of the door had some sort of cat like hearing.

"Are you threatening a child?" She went from leaning against the door frame to standing up straight, her one hand on her wand holder that was wrapped around her leg.

"Step away from the kid" She warned. Her voice was scarier than that of this guy claiming to be from the strongest wizarding family.

"You heard her…Step away from the child" Sasuke said, rather amused by this badass lady's interference.

"Or what, Kushina. Or. What?" Hiashi asked, taking a step closer to Sasuke. Now Sasuke was feeling from very uncomfortable to the worse kind of uncomfortable. It felt like he was in the middle of some adult war. He was about to pull his wand out and hex the man in front of him and run for it.

"There you are, dear." Minato Namikaze walked in through the open door inside the changing room. The tension seemed to calm down by his presence. Sasuke looked surprised. He had no idea the muggle-born dad of Naruto was the man he had met in Daigon Ally. He felt stupid, they were so similar.

"Sasuke, wonderful game." Minato said with a kind smile on his face. " You must be very proud." He spoke while he put a hand on Kushina's shoulder. Kushina did not break eye contact with Hiashi.

Sasuke looked from Hiashi to Kushina to Minato.

"Yes, sir…" Sasuke said, nodding his head slightly. Hiashi's eyes darkened by Sasuke's sudden polite behaviour towards the person he considered to be below him by blood.

"You are just as big of a blood-traitor as the Uzumaki's are" Hiashi stated to Sasuke.

Kushina drew her wand, but Minato grabber her wrist and lowered it.

"Your parents are lucky to be dead to not see the day an Uchiha says 'sir' to a filthy mudblood." Hiashi whispered as he passed Sasuke.

Hiashi put his nose in the air and pushed his hair behind his shoulder as he passed Minato.

"Minato." He said in a hateful voice, passing the man.

"Hiashi" Minato said. The atmosphere was very thick and it didn't thin down until the man was completely out of ear shot.

"Are you serious!" Kuhsina raised her voice slightly at Minato. "Are you going to let him talk to you that way and threaten an child" She indicated to Sasuke.

"It is alright, Kushina, dear." Minato said calmly as he looked over his shoulder. "He only embarrassed himself."

He whispered something to her and Sasuke wished he had the same sort of hearing as Kushina so he knew what they were saying. Whatever it was…It calmed her down slightly.

"Are you alright, son?" Minato asked.

Sasuke didn't say anything as he just quickly nodded his head. Before anybody could say anything Naruto stood in front of the door looking at the back of his parents.

"Mom? Dad?" He asked slightly suspicious.

Sasuke looked from Minato to Naruto before looking at Kushina and then once again back at Naruto. Yup, he was definitely a product of the both of them. There was no doubt in Sasuke's mind anymore.

"I was looking everywhere." Naruto's eyes caught Sasuke and his expression changed to an annoyed one.

"Don't you have a party full of snakes to go to?" He asked.

"Don't you have a Sore Loser Convention in the Gryffindor tower?" Sasuke snapped back.

"Actually that is on Mondays, dattebayo" Naruto commented, sticking is tongue out at the Uchiha.

"Put your tongue back in your mouth before I enlarge is and make you choke on it!" Sasuke hissed. Naruto stopped sticking his tongue out and folded his arms, turning his shoulder to Sasuke.

"Seems you met my parents." He said, and for a moment it seemed Naruto was actually trying to make a normal conversation for once.

" Of course you know my mom form holding your hand on platform nine and ten last year" Naruto had a mocking look in his eyes.

"I didn't hold her hand!" Sasuke's face turned red.

"Oh Sasuke-baby, it is alright to be afraid and cry" Naruto put up a baby-voice.

Sasuke gritted his teeth.

"W-wel…At least I didn't accidently poisoned Ino Yamanaka during potions!"

There was an abrupt change in attitude in Naruto. His eyes looked frightened for a moment and he looked at each of his parent's from the corner of his eyes.

"Naruto Uzumaki!" Kushina said in a stern voice, folding her arms over her chest. She did not look happy.

"Karin poisoned Neji Hyuuga so Sasuke could substitute and he knew!" He pointed an accusing finger at Sasuke.

"How brave of you, ratting out your family! At least Serpents eat rats like you for breakfast" Sasuke commented.

"Both of you, knock it off" Minato interrupted them. It was something in his voice that made Sasuke not even question it. He immediately stopped talking and looked down at his feet.

"Isn't there enough rivalry in the word for you two to make each other's life harder?" Minato said, "There will come a time where you need allies and you would be happy you invested your time in making them."

Both Sasuke and Naruto sighed at the same time before looking up to meet each other's eyes.

"I am sorry" Naruto said before extending his hand to Sasuke as a peace offering.

"Yes," he looked up from Naruto's hand to look the boy in the eyes, "you should be."

"Sasuke" Minato said in a gentle but stern way.

"I am sorry" Sasuke sighed, not seeming too apologetic as he quickly shook Naruto's hand before looking him in the eye. He knew Naruto has sky blue eyes, just like his father. But for a mere second, Sasuke swore he saw something orange mixed with red hidden deep inside them, and even though it were just a bunch of colours. There was something terrifying about it.

Naruto coughed and broke the eye contact before turning to his parents.

"I..I have to visit Kiba at Lady Shizune's. He is probably wondering where I am!" Naruto laughed and scratched the back of his head. "I guess, I will see you for the next match?" Naruto headed to his parents, wrapping one arm around each of them and kissing one cheek each.

"Yes, we will try to come" Kushina said. "Also Naruto, you better tell that girl what you did or there will be consequences."

Naruto put his thumb up before leaving the dressing room.

"I guess we should be heading home then. Sasuke, would you be so kind to escort us to the nearest fireplace?" Minato asked. Sasuke nodded.

After everything that happened, Sasuke was not at all in the mood for a party. He had made an excuse of needing something from his room, and he never returned. He just laid on his bed and stared at the ceiling. There were so many questions in his head. What was the whole ordeal with the Hyuugas? What was this beef they had with the Uzumakis ? Why did he call Minato Namikaze a mudblood? What did Kushina and Minato whisper about? But nothing bothered him as much as the sensation he had gotten during the Quidditch game and then there was Naruto.

He wanted to talk about it, but who could even talk to about everything that had happened? Obito is a muggle and has no idea about this stuff. For a moment he had Kakashi in his head, but the idea alone made him almost puke.

Out of annoyance Sasuke dug his head in his pillow and let out a loud scream. He moved his head to the side. He took a deep breath.

A faded sound was heard from the window. It seemed somebody was throwing small object on the window. Sasuke sat up and grabbed his wand from the nightstand before pushing the window fully open.

"What!" He shouted seeing Naruto sit on the window sill, his legs dangling outside the window. He was wearing a pair of orange sweatpants and a black shirt. He had a necklace around his neck with a blue crystal hanging from it. His hair was wet and frankly looked better than the messy blond hair he usually had.

"Why aren't you celebrating your victory?" Naruto asked.

"What's is it to you?" Sasuke immediately said annoyed. Naruto remained quiet and just stared ahead of him.

"Come on, you aren't telling me you actually listen to your father?" Sasuke sat down. A silence emerged between them. Sasuke looked at the grey bricks before sighing deeply. Naruto didn't say anything and a silence fell between the too. It wasn't an uncomfortable, but the silence gave Sasuke moment to think of everything that went down in the locker room.

"What's a mudblood?" Sasuke asked, not looking at Naruto.

"A mudblood is a wizard or witch born from non-wizarding parents. The polite term is muggle-born. Mudblood is an insulting way to address them."

"Why is that a bad thing?" Sasuke finally looked up. Naruto changed his position. Sitting with his back against the brick wall, one leg hanging outside the window. He reached his hand to a fruit basket and grabbed an orange.

"There is this prejudiced against Muggle-borns, some pure-blooded wizards consider them to be of ' 'lower breeding' , and undeserving of magic. They use that racial slur to imply that muggle-borns have dirty blood," Naruto explained while cutting his orange with a small silver dagger. He finally looked up at Sasuke and indicated to the orange.

Sasuke extended his arm and caught the piece of orange Naruto threw at him.

"We have something similar in the muggle world-"

Sasuke stopped talking when he heard Naruto snigger.

"We?" Naruto asked, "Sasuke, you are as pure-blooded as they come."

Sasuke remained quiet, not sure what to say.

"So your dad is muggle-born, hu?"

"Yes. It is hard out there, a lot of people pretend they don't mind it, but they still treat my dad like he is…Lesser. He only recently got promoted. My mom said they finally saw him for the powerful wizard he is. My aunt, however, thinks they promoted him as a PR stunt, showing they are not racist towards muggle-borns. I personally think they were afraid my dad would start some radical group and throw over the ministry. You know what they say, keep your friends close and your enemies closer."

"That is horrible" Sasuke thought of Minato. He didn't deserve to face such hardships. When Sasuke walked them to the fireplace he was so kind and he was very easy to talk to. Minato has this powerful and yet protective aura around him. Sasuke often found himself wondering how he could have an idiot son like Naruto.

"I got to talk to your dad today. I walked him to the fireplace" Sasuke said, eating the orange.

"Why?" Naruto asked.

"He asked if I could show him where the fireplace was." Sasuke said. He changed his sitting position so he now was sitting on the window sill with his legs hanging outside. Naruto looked confused, but didn't say anything as he was chewing the slice of orange.

"He played you, dattebayo" Naruto said, putting his sticky thumb in his finger to suck the stickiness away.

"What? Don't be stupid. Why would he play me?" Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"I don't know. You tell me. But don't you think when he travelled here through the flew network, he would know where to find a fireplace?" Naruto raised an questionable eyebrow.

"He played me…" Sasuke muttered looking surprised. He thought of what had happened earlier in the changing room with Hiash Hyuuga. It made sense Minato Namikaze was being cautious and walked Sasuke back to Hogwarts without even making Sasuke feel like he was accepting protection.

"Besides, he has spent 7 years in Hogwarts. He knows his way around this place."

"How could I be so stupid" Sasuke muttered to himself.

"Did something happen ?" Naruto asked. "My dad doesn't waste people's time for the mere fun of it, unlike my aunt."

Sasuke seemed hesitant at first to tell Naruto, but decided to give in. Until now Naruto had made a few things quite clear to him.

"Do you know a Hiashi Hyuuga?" Sasuke asked.

"Of course, who doesn't?" Naruto said surprised, but he quickly took his words back when he looked at Sasuke's clueless face.

"He is Neji's uncle and Hinata's father" He said. "He is better known for being the head of the Hyuugas and they are known for their eye powers, their Byakugan. It allows them to look far into the distance and their surroundings. But they usually use it to look at somebody's magic flow. They block the using their secret spells."

"Then what happens?" Sasuke asked.

"Your magic flow is what makes you different from muggles. They mostly slowly develop in the first seven years. They are the source of our magic. When your magic flow is messed up, for example by a traumatic event, it influences your magic. When the Hyuugas block it, they disturb the flow-"

"And you won't be able to use certain types of magic until the blockage is cleared" Sasuke finished Naruto's sentence.

"Yup, they are quite feared for that. Feared enough for the ministry to give them special privileges. Unlike most, the Hyuuga children are allowed to use magic inside the Hyuuga district. My aunt says the ministry also covered up a lot of muggle-related incidence to keep them from revolting against them. It are things like this that make people like them believe they are better. Not all Hyuuga's are bad though. Hinata is very kind and Neji has his dick moments."

"You come from the Uzumaki clan. Aren't they quite…Powerful?" Sasuke asked.

"Yeah, but we obey the rules because we don't think we are any better than others. My mother married my dad after all. Shows that we don't believe in that blood-purity shit. The sealing and releasing of magical creatures squad and the ancient ruins teams is formed of a lot of Uzumakis, but it is because of their powerful sealing magic and sensory abilities, not because of prejudice."

"Sensory abilities?" Sasuke asked.

"Yes. Everybody's magic is different. A lot of Uzumaki's can sense each individual magic source and identify them to the person if they have seen it before. Why do you think Karin always manages to find you right away without wasting any time. I hate to hand it to her, but her sensory abilities are very advanced, even my mom says so and she is the best."

"What about you?" Sasuke asked. Naruto looked away before smiling a big smile and scratching the back of his head.

"I never really got the grasp of it!" He laughed. "Think I never will."

For a mere second, Sasuke forgot everything that happened today and was only focussed on the conversation he had with Naruto, and to his surprise. The two seemed to be getting better along than they imagined.

Naruto ended up falling asleep on the window sill. Sasuke looked at him and couldn't surpass a small smile. He picked up his wand and levitated a blanket to cover Naruto before closing the window and locking it. He moved the curtains over it.

Sasuke jumped off the window sill and almost got a heart attack by the sight if Karin standing in the doorframe.

"Enjoying a chat with by stupid cousin?" Karin asked. She had her arms folded and a small frown on her face.

"Why? What is the big deal?" Sasuke asked.

"Nothing…It seemed nice" She commented. "You haven't come to your own victory party?" She changed the topic.

"I wasn't in the mood for a party" Sasuke said lying down in his bed. "Wake me up before dinner, will you? I have had an exhausted afternoon."

"Fine, that is what friends do." Karin said, shutting the door behind her.

Dinner was served and Sasuke walked inside the great hall. His hair was messy than ever before. He could hear a few people chuckle at his table, but he didn't care for it. He sat down next to Suigetsu and in front of Karin who looked at him from over her glasses before grabbing her wand. She casted a spell causing Sasuke to look from a slum to a decent, well taken care of, boy. His hair suddenly seemed brushed and his clothes were no longer wrinkly.

"What is wrong with you? First you don't show up at your own party and then you talk to the enemy and then you decide to sleep the entire afternoon?" Suigetsu asked. Sasuke didn't answer as he put some chicken drumsticks on his plate. Karin grabbed a the bowl of vegetables and put some on his plate with some mashed potatoes on the side. She sat down again, seeing Sasuke look from his plate to her and then back at his plate as he dug in.

"You don't want to talk about it?" Suigetsu asked.

"I met Hiashi Hyuuga" Sasuke whispered as he poked in the vegetables. "It was not pleasant."

"Did he accuse you of poisoning Neji?" Karin whispered.

"No" Sasuke said, "he didn't seem to care much about Neji..Or his daughter for that matter."

"Then what did he want?" Suigetsu asked while his mouth was full. Karin threw him a disgusted look. Sasuke started telling them everything that had happened in the changing rooms, but left out the part of Naruto's eyes.

"I am glad aunt Kushina was there. A lot of people are afraid of her."

"It was your uncle that stopped a duel from happening right there" Sasuke finally grabbed the silverware again and slowly stared eating.

"Of course he wouldn't duel. He would do everything to prevent a conflict. He always does." Karin made it sound like a bad thing. Sasuke looked at her, his eyes told her to elaborate her statement.

"I am just saying if he would show his skills more often people wouldn't dare to call him a mudblood. Not in his face at least."

"You wanted him to fight Hiashi Hyuuga while Sasuke was there?"

"Aunt Kushina would have, and you would be up for a real nice show." Karin had a small smirk on her face, "She would totally win."

"I don't get why he would come for me? Why would he try befriending me? I have nothing to offer him or his precious title-"

Both Suigetsu and Karin gave him the most shocked look he had ever seen the two give him.

"You are bloody thick in the head, aren't you?" Suigetsu said as Karin nodded.

"Sasuke, you are the last Uchiha. You know how much the Hyuugas feared the Uchihas? How every wizard did? The moment when you duelled an Uchiha you were done for. Having you on his side or even in his family would actually make more people fear him."

"Why?" Sasuke asked. He stopped whispering now. Both Karin and Suigetsu seemed clueless.

"I don't know…That is just how it was." Karin said. "They were just very powerful…Maybe one of the professors remember what made them so. We were just kids when they were still around."

"Right I should totally do that. Hello professor Senju, would you mind telling me all about my dead family and their hidden powers?" Sasuke blew of Karin's suggestion

Sasuke slowly continued eating his meal. His eyes stuck on his plate.

"I am sorry, Sasuke" She said, "I could ask my mother"

"Yeah, I could ask my dads. They probably know," Suigetu said.

Sasuke didn't respond to it as he was occupied by the mashed potatoes on his plate. He looked over at the Gryffindor table. He saw Kiba was doing just fine again. He was sitting next to Naruto, eating his meal in a sulking way. Naruto was occupied in a conversation with Lee, a muggle-born wizard from Hufflepuff. He seemed to be really into it as he was smiling.

For a moment it seemed like Naruto could feel Sasuke's eyes on him. He looked the Uchiha in the eye. Sasuke didn't look away, but proceeded to stare intensely in his eyes. He couldn't see it anymore. Not the red or the orange.

"Oh does Uchiha have a little crush on Naruto Uzumaki!"

Kiba didn't seem to be sulking anymore as he took the first opportunity after the match to make fun of Sasuke. He stood up, cupping his hands around his mouth to make sure the entire hall could hear him.

"Are you a homo!? Uchiha? Would be real ass loss for the Uchiha-"

"Kiba! Shut up!" Naruto angerly interrupted his friend and pulled him down with one jerk around his collar. They seemed to be arguing on the table and it ended up with Kiba standing up angerly from the table and leaving the great hall.

"First time I saw those two morons fight each other" Karin noted, looking back from the Gryffindor table to Sasuke. He could see his eyes still look over at the other table.


	7. Chapter 7

Sasuke was sitting in the great hall the next morning. He was eating some cornflakes as he was reading the letter he got from Obito. He looked up for a second, seeing Neji Hyuuga walk towards the table. He was paler than ever and had one arm still wrapped around his stomach. Zabuza looked awkwardly away and so did the twins, pretending to talk to one another and not see the Hyuuga. Neji stopped when he saw Sasuke. He turned himself around and looked at the Uchiha.

"I heard about the game," he said. It was hard to guess his emotions from his sick face. "Good job."

With those words he walked over to Zabuza and sat down next to him. Sasuke could see the quidditch captain pretend to be very concerned about Neji's health. However, by paying close attention to the words, Sasuke noticed Zabuza was interrogating the Hyuuga to see if Neji could trace the poison to him. Neji said something about Lady Shizune talking about some potions, but he added he thought she was talking about some medicine to cure him.

Karin walked inside the great hall. She was walking a bit off as she had an arm around her left side, covering something that she had hidden under her cloak. Karin looked suspiciously around her. She spotted Sasuke on the table and instead of sitting adjacent from him, she took a seat next to him.

"Don't act suspicious," she said seriously, while pushing her glasses up her nose.

Sasuke looked around him before looking at Karin.

"Pretty sure you are the only one being suspicious," he noted when pushing the empty bowl away from him.

"Here" She held a book from under her robe and shoved it from her lap to Sasuke's.

Sasuke wanted to put the book on the table, but Karin immediately stopped him.

"It is from the restricted section, Sasuke" She looked suspiciously around her while she said it.

Sasuke had already a lot of question for the Uzumaki, but by the first sight of the book he got a familiar feeling. He put his fingers on the picture of a red and white fan, tracing it.

"I know this logo…" Sasuke whispered, "They were embroider on the back of the shirt when Obito first found me in the hospital."

"It´s your clan's symbol," Karin said. "It is a book about the Uchihas."

"How did you get this?" Sasuke asked.

"A girl has to keep her secrets." She held her nose high in the air, looking rather proud.

"But really…How?" Sasuke asked again.

"My stupid cousin…He owns an invisibility cloak. I borrowed it with some slight threats. I snug inside the library and got the book," She explained.

"That is…Very kind of you" Sasuke gave her a wary expression.

"Well…We are friends like I said," she looked away.

"You don't have a lot of friends then," Sasuke commented. "Neither have I," he put a hand on Karin's shoulder. "I appreciate this."

He took his wand and pointed it at the book.

" Diminuendo" he whispered. The book turned pocket sized and Sasuke put it away.

Karin quickly ate breakfast before both of them rushed to the new tower. The second years, boy's dormitory was empty except for Suigetsu who was standing in front of the mirror, flexing his arms. He immediately turned away from the mirror and his cheeks heated up by the sight of his friends entering.

Neither Sasuke or Karin commented on it. They sat down on the bed. And Sasuke grabbed the small book from his pocket.

Karin waved her wand, causing the door of the room the close. Suigetsu joined them and looked at the small book. He didn't say anything as he looked at Sasuke who clutched his wand and aimed it at the book.

"Engorgio" He said. The book grew back to its original size.

"Is this why you were talking to your cousin in front of the portrait of the fat lady?" Suigetsu asked Karin. He didn't get an answer, but he didn't need one to know he was right.

Sasuke opened the book, it appeared rather old and dusty.

"It is handwritten," Sasuke noted.

"Read….What does it say?" Karin asked

Sasuke scanned the two pages before looking up.

"It starts with an family tree going back centuries" Sasuke said going through the pages. He stopped and put the book down and pointed at his name at the bottom of the page right next to that of his brother. Karin and Suigetsu both got up and sat next to Sasuke, staring at the pages of the book.

"Mikoto Uchiha….Fugaku Uchiha-They are my parents." Sasuke's fingers moved over their names.

They had spent several hours going through the book. There was a lot of history written in there and at least 1/3 of the book was about Madara Uchiha, a powerful wizard that started a wizarding war. The story however seemed incomplete.

Karin suddenly shut the book and put Sasuke's pillow over it. Just when Sasuke and Suigetsu wanted to protest the door of the dormitory opened revealing Kakashi Hatake.

"Ms Uzumaki, you are not allowed in the boy's dormitory." Kakashi said in a strict voice.

"I am so sorry professor." Karin got up and walked out of the room.

"How did you even get past the barrier?" Kakashi asked.

"What barrier?" Sasuke whispered to Suigetsu while Karin and Kakashi were talking.

"There is a barrier that prevents boys from going to the girl's dormitory and vice versa." Suigetsu explained. "Karin broke it from the beginning and re-casted one that only allowed her in."

"She is that good of a witch?" Sasuke was getting more and more impressed by his friend.

"She is an Uzumaki" Suigetsu whispered.

Karin walked down the stairs. Kakashi now looked at the two boys.

"What are you two doing up here? It is ten o'clock. Get out," He indicated for the two boys to get up.

Sasuke and Suigetsu walked out of the room, but Kakashi grabbed Sasuke by his shoulder.

"I know," he whispered in a low, cold and threatening voice.

Sasuke's eyes widened; he was afraid Kakashi had seen a glimpse of the book.

"There is no such thing as a mating dance" he said in a grumpy voice.

"….Really?" Sasuke acted surprised, "Dear lord, everything I know about the birds and the bees is wrong," he said in a sarcastic tone.

"Get out of my sight!" Kakashi was pissed. Sasuke followed Suigetsu downstairs.

"Good thing Karin was there. We would have been so busted" Suigetsu said. They were looking for Karin who had suddenly disappeared. They had expected her to wait down the stairs.

"Probably the library" Sasuke noted and headed there. He could see Neji pass them in the hall. He didn't say a word to them. Not much later they saw professor Senju wandering in the halls.

"Good morning, professor" Suigetsu greeted.

"Nobody likes a teacher's pet, Suigetsu" Tobirama commented without even looking at him. He just walked down the hall.

"I was being polite" Suigetsu whispered to Sasuke who chuckled slightly.

"And?" Both Sasuke and Suigetsu jumped when they suddenly heard Karin's voice from behind them.

"Uzumaki!" Suigetsu shouted, "I almost got a heart attack."

"Yeah right…Did you bring it?" Karin asked, looking at Sasuke.

"Bring what?" Sasuke frowned.

"The book, of course!" Karin rolled her eyes, "don't tell me you just left it hidden under a pillow"

Sasuke shared a quick look with Suigetsu.

"I even stalled Hatake and gave you a chance to sneak it out!" She said angerly, "you are so stupid!"

"Don't worry, it is still there. Hatake probably left by now this is our chance to go back, grab the book, and find a save spot to go through it."

"I hope your plan works. Let me remind you, you already have two enemies in this school who will do everything to see you go down." Karin warned him.

"Hmm…I expected more by now" Sasuke commented, "Stay here, I will go get the book."

Sasuke walked back to the tower and ran up the stairs. His heart sunk seeing the door of the room opened. He ran up the remain way, panting as he reached the top. It was as if everything that could go wrong just went wrong. There in the middle of the boy's dormitory was Neji Hyuuga. He had a smug smile on his face, standing in front of him was professor Senju. He was holding the book that Karin had stolen from the restricted section.

Sasuke looked from Neji to Tobirama. Neji gave him an arrogant look while Tobirama was looking inside the book before closing it. His red small eyes looked right into Sasuke's.

At this point. Sasuke thought of a few options to get out of the situation, but most of them required him to run for his life and hide in the forbidden forest. It ended with him being brutally murdered by an animal. So he did the only thing he thought could possibility get him out of the situation.

"What are you doing in my stuff?" Sasuke asked. The matrass was flipped off the bed and all the drawers of his nightstand were opened.

"Mr Uchiha-"

"I have never seen that book in my life. He planted it!" Sasuke pointed an accusing finger at Neji.

"How dare you throw such an accusation at me? I simply saw you act rather odd during breakfast and I decided to make sure you weren't getting yourself….poisoned" He spoke the last word with all the resentment he possibly could have.

"Furthermore, I came across this book and it is clearly from the restricted section. It was only my duty as a Hogwarts student to report you to professor Senju." He took a step closer to Sasuke.

"I feel it is my duty to punch you in the face!" Sasuke hissed walking up to Neji. He grabbed him by his tie.

"Try me," Neji whispered, "You are no better than a filthy mudblood."

Sasuke let go of Neji's tie before taking a step back.

"So you talked your uncle…Is this his way to get back at me for talking back to him?"

"Nobody disrespects the noble Hyuuga clan." Neji had a creepy smile on his face.

"Mr Uchiha" Tobirama put the book under his arm, he walked towards Sasuke and grabbed him by his upper arm and pulled the Uchiha with him. Tobirama's hand was squeezing his arm in a painful way, he seemed to enjoy to finally get the opportunity to punish Sasuke.

He dragged the boy behind him in the halls. People stopped whatever they were doing to just look at him. They whispered to one another, some were pointing fingers. It reminded him of the time he had spent in the muggle school. Guess muggles and wizards didn't differ that much.

"Sasuke!" Suigetsu said while Karin covered her eyes and looked away. "What happened?!"

"Neji happened!" Sasuke hissed back but was immediately told to shut up by Tobirama.

"Haha Uchiha got himself in trouble!" Kiba shouted. Naruto shared a quick look with Sasuke before he looked at his cousin. He seemed to put everything together.

"Come," Naruto walked towards Karin and grabbed her by her wrist before pulling her behind him. Sasuke couldn't see what Naruto was doing as he was pulled in Tobirama's office.

"Sit," he demanded. Sasuke listened and sat in the chair in front of the desk where Tobirama sat behind. The man remained silence for a whole minute, just staring the Uchiha in the eye. Sasuke wanted to look away but he almost felt enchanted and unable to do so.

"I can explain," Sasuke said.

"I don't want your explanation." Tobirama said sternly.

"Then why am I here?" The words flew out of his mouths before he could stop them.

"Being witty, are we?" Tobirama slowly stood up, looking down at the Uchiha.

"I can have you expelled from the school for behaviour like this," he threatened.

"Please…Professor…" Sasuke looked down, "I just wanted to know where I come from. I just….Wanted to know the names of my parents." A small tear rolled over his cheek. "It is just…So hard…"

"Uchiha, I can see past your crocodile tears" Tobirama was a brutal and cold man, now Sasuke was sure of it.

He looked up and wiped the single fake tear off his cheek. The fact that Tibirama didn't grab the bait surprised him.

"Fine! I stole the damn book from the restricted section. I just wanted to know more about my dead clan after learning about the other wizarding clans. How can I be in the wrong. You forbid me for reading the book that literally belongs to me. Yeah, it was written by an Uchiha! I am their last relative, that technically belongs to me! I want a wizard-lawyer and I won't talk until I get one!"

Tobirama's face did not break.

"Firstly….How stupid are you?" He sat back in his chair.

"You are a student, there is no such thing as a wizard-lawyer! It is just a lawyer, and that book does not belong to you just because a relative wrote it. It was gifted to the school six years ago by said relative that wrote it."

"….Why does this school even have a restricted section? It makes no sense to me! Why put books in the library we are not allowed to read?" Sasuke's eyes were back on the ground, "Just tell me if you are going to suspend me or not."

"You will be cleaning the basement. No magic." Tobirama got up.

"That is it?" Sasuke finally looked up, his eyes were shining. He couldn't believe Tobirama let him off so easy!

At the time he said it, it felt like such a small task. He had to clean his room all the time from Obito and he never used magic before. That was until he actually saw the basement. Everything was covered in an inch of dust and it was a real mess. He then realised he did not come out easy at all. Instead, he wished at that point that Tobirama had expelled him.

He sighed as he began dusting the place off, he started constantly sneezing and ended up ripping off a piece of his sleeve and tie it around his nose and mouth to block the dust. After an hour he thought he was making progress in the room, but after the second hour he was lying on the ground staring at the ceiling. He told himself he would die in the room and all he thought of was that it would be the lamest place to die. He sat up and looked at the door, it was slightly opened and he just saw something, that looked like a very big naked cat, walk away.

"Ew…" Sasuke shook it off him before getting up. He swiped the spider of his shoulder and continued cleaning. He stumbled across a big heavy object, hidden behind a sheet. Sasuke pulled the sheet away, revealing a beautiful big mirror.

"'erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi' Sasuke read the inscription out loud.

"What for language is tha-" Sasuke didn't finish his sentence as he suddenly saw a connection. He read the word backwords before looking inside the mirror.

He could see himself in it. A woman slowly appeared on his right side. She wore a silver diadem and beautiful dark blue gown. She had long, thick, dark blue hair and her face was beautiful. She was smiling as she put her hand on Sasuke's shoulder. Sasuke looked besides him, there was no one there.

He looked back in the mirror and on the other side appeared a young boy. He seemed to be in his late teens. He looked a lot like the woman only his eyes were more narrow and his hair had a dark grey shade in it. He looked tired, but it did not stop him from ruffling up Sasuke's hair.

Behind the teenager appeared a man. He had a square jaw and short black hair with a grey tint in it. He had a few wrinkles on the sides of his mouth and eyes, but he was overall decent looking. Not as pretty as the woman or the teenager, but still handsome. Next to a man another young man appeared, he seemed to be around his early twenties. He had curly black hair and a big smile on his face and on his side stood Obito. He had his arms folded over his chest and he looked at Sasuke with a proud expression.

The mirror was slowly filling with a whole bunch of people Sasuke swore he had never seen in his life before. But it didn't take him long to figure it out. Ravens, onyx eyes and pale skin…They were all Uchihas. They were his family.

Sasuke took a step closer to the mirror and ran his fingers down the image of the woman's face. She was so beautiful. He wanted to look away, but he couldn't. He was afraid if he looked away that they would all disappear.

He sat down in front of the mirror, looking at what could have been. He continued sitting there, unaware of the time passing by.

"Isn't it wonderful?" Hashirama voice was heard from behind Sasuke. Sasuke refused to look away.

"It is not real…" Sasuke whispered, "I know…But I can't look away" He pulled his legs closer to his body and hugged them tightly. He felt a hand on his shoulder. Hashirama sat beside him and looked inside the mirror.

"This mirror shows us our deepest desires."

"I figured.." Sasuke whispered. Pulling the piece of fabric away from his nose and mouth. "I thought at first…It was some sort of bridge between us and the death. A portal towards those we wish to resurrect."

Hashirama looked rather intrigued at Sasuke.

"But then I figured the name of the mirror…It is spelled desire backwards. It didn't stop me from looking at it."

"You are a very bright boy." Hashirama said. He put his hand on Sasuke's head, ruffling his hair up.

"I know nothing about my clan…My parents. All I wanted was to know about my family history like the Hyuuga's and Uzumaki's know theirs."

Hashirama extended his hand, the white, dusty, sheet moved from the side of the mirror and covered it once again it . Sasuke didn't protest, but didn't look at Hashirama either.

"Many witches and wizard have gone mad just looking in this mirror. Spending days and nights in front of it. " Hashirama's face was very serious. "I trust you to not do the same, Sasuke."

"Headmaster Hashirama…Why can't I read the book about my family?"

"Because Sasuke…Families as old as the Uchihas do not always have made decisions that one at your age would understand."

"Is this about Madara Uchiha? I know starting a war like he did was wrong…I am not going to follow in his footsteps just because he is a powerful wizard…I promise, headmaster."

Hashirama looked at the covered mirror for a second before looking back at Sasuke.

"I am not talking about Madara Uchiha. You will probably even learn about him in your history of magic class." Hashirama said, "Sasuke…The world is not all black and white. People are not just bad and good. Characters are more complex than we think. Neither one of us can truly judge unless we have walked a mile in their shoes-"

"What are you saying!?" Sasuke asked annoyed.

"I am saying…When you are older and more understanding of the world. I will gift you the book." Hashirama said before he stood up.

"But for now, you don't need to focus on your family. You are your own person and not defined by your heritage. You seemed to be having done a good job at that so far. "

"What do you mean?" Sasuke accepted the hand Hashirama offered him. Hashirama pulled Sasuke up from the floor.

"Three of your friends marched in my office. It seems they thought my brother was going to expel you from Hogwarts." Hashirama smiled, "It was very noble."

"Three?" Sasuke asked. "I only know two people that tolerate me."

"Karin Uzumaki, Suigetsu Hozuki and Naruto Uzumaki." Hashirama told him.

"You made some good friends in Hogwarts. I am glad to see you take a different path from your brother. Unlike Hiashi Hyuuga, I do think your father and mother would be proud of you."

Sasuke watched Hashirama walk towards the door. He was surprised how suiting those words sounded coming from the headmaster, but besides that, he wondered how the headmaster knew about his encounter with the head of the Hyuuga clan.

Had Minato told him?

Was the headmaster some all-knowing-being?

"You should hurry up with your chore. You will be missing dinner at this rate." He opened the door in order to leave.

"Headmaster….How long before I get the book?" Sasuke asked.

"When you're sixteen. The same age where you will be taught the caramel dance in the muggle world." He looked over his shoulder and laughed.

"Yeah…I deserved that…" Sasuke commented, chuckling as he remembered Obito's letter. Kakashi must have been embarrassed.

He continued cleaning the basement. He moved some boxes around and some were very heavy. He hated not being able to use magic. One of the boxes ripped from the bottom and bunch of books and pictures fell out of it. Sasuke kneeled down to pick the books up.

"History of Jinchuriki" He read the title out loud before opening the book. He was curious what a Jinchuriki was. He flipped through the book and stopped right away when he saw drawing of a ten tailed monster. He sat down, reading the text.

" _A millennium ago, the world was terrorised by a rampaging, colossal monster known as the Ten-Tails. Eventually, through the combined efforts of the twin brothers, Hagoromo and Hamura Ōtsutsuki, the Ten-Tails was defeated and sealed within Hagoromo, becoming its jinchūriki. His brother, Hamura, died during the battle. Throughout his travels, Hagoromo used the Ten-Tails' power to perform many great deeds and promote peace during his lifetime, causing him to be revered as the "Sage of Six Paths". Towards the end of his life, Hagoromo, knowing the Ten-Tails would be unleashed on the world again when he died, split its chakra into nine living entities called the tailed beasts_ "

Sasuke turned the page, seeing a drawing of what seemed like the first beast. He didn't bother to fully read the description and just skimmed through it before moving to the next page. He saw a two tailed cat and he continued flipping to the pages until he reached what he was looking for. It was the nine-tailed fox. He put the book closer to his face to look at the drawing of the beast's eyes. He remembered Naruto telling him about the Uzumaki clan. How they were known for their sealing jutsus and the sensory abilities. It wouldn't be odd if the Uzumaki were responsible for keeping such a beast sealed away…Sealed away in a human. He remembered Naruto's eyes.

He shook the thought out of his head before reading the text next to the picture. There was not much known about the nine-tailed fox or Jinchuriki's in general. Except that they were deeply hidden in the wizarding world. But from what little information Sasuke had gotten about them. He knew.

He knew Naruto's deepest secret. He knew about him being the jinchuriki of the nine tailed fox. He did not have any hard evidence to proof it, but he remembered whatever he saw in Naruto's eyes was not Naruto. It was powerful, fearful and angry. It had to be the nine-tails.

The door of the basement opened and Sasuke quickly got up and kicked the book behind him as he pretended to be cleaning. A small creature - between two to three feet tall, with spindly arms and legs and over-sized heads and eyes- entered the room. It had pointed, bat-like ears and it was wearing a white sheet like a toga. Sasuke squinted his eyes slightly. It was the creature he had mistaken for a naked cat earlier in the day.

Sasuke just looked at it as it was just standing with one foot in the room. Its eyes looked at Sasuke and then looked away and then looked back at him again, and then looked away. It continued doing it for a whole minute.

"Can I help you?" Sasuke finally asked. He was rather annoyed the creature was doing nothing but stand there. At first he wondered if it could even understand him.

"M-master Sasuke…Has come to Hogwarts" The creature had a high squeaky voice. "Binky is happy to see her master alive and well. Binky thought master was gone forever-"

"What are you?" Sasuke asked, carrying the books and putting it on top of a box.

"Binky…Binky is an elf...A house-elf" The elf said as she finally stepped inside the room, holding a platter with food.

"Did headmaster Hashirama send you?" Sasuke asked. "Or pofessor Senju?"

"N-no..N-no… Binky was ordered to clean the room. B-but Professor Senju told Binky not to as a student was b-being p-punished. Binky recognised master Sasuke immediately. B-Binky had been w-worried-"

"Stop stuttering. It is annoying. Get to the point. Why are you here?" Sasuke asked. He took one step closer to the house-elf and was surprised seeing she squirm away. Her back hit the closed door and if she could she would have probably walked through it. The house-elf seemed afraid. Sasuke stopped right away.

"Are you…Alright?" Sasuke asked.

"B-binky is s-so sorry! Binky should have come to master's aid right away. Binky is a bad, bad house elf. Binky is…" She dropped the platter on the floor and started banging the back of her head against the door.

"Hey. Hey! Binky, stop that. Binky…Binky stop that!"Sasuke shouted out, causing her to stop right away. She fell through her knees and bowed down.

"Please master, have mercy on Binky. Binky should have stayed by m-master s-side. Binky should have known master was still alive-"

"Binky….What are you talking about?" Sasuke lowered his voice. Slowly approaching the house-elf.

"Binky was the house-elf of the Uchiha family" She looked up, "Binky was your house-elf."

"You were? My family employed elves?" He seemed amazed. He had expected elves to be more like Tinkerbell. Small, cute and sparkling. Binky was neither of those things.

"Employed? N-no master, no, no, no, no…Binky was owned by the Uchihas. Is owned by the Uchihas."

Sasuke's expression turned blank.

"Owned?" Sasuke asked. "Could you elaborate?"

"House-elves, like B-Binky serve wizards and witches and are usually found under the employment of old wizarding families taking residence in elaborate establishments, like the Uchiha mansions, and must do everything that their masters command."

"Sounds like slavery with extra steps. Why would you do that?"

Binky's eyes shot wide open, they were filled with fear of even the thought of not following an order of her master.

"Uhm…So…What did you bring with you?" Sasuke changed the subject. The house-elf picked up the fallen platter.

"B-Binky has…Made master a meal. Master hasn't eaten since breakfast."

"That is very considerate of you, Binky. Thank you" Sasuke sat as he accepted the platter. The platter had a bowl of Indian curry and a small plate with thick Arabic bread.

He sat down and put the platter in front of him. He broke a piece of the bread and dipped it in the curry before eating it.

"Wow Binky, this tastes wonderful" Sasuke said. He indicated for Binky to sit in front of him. She did right away, but was still nervous. Sasuke dipped another piece of bread in the curry and offered it to Binky. She suddenly covered her face with her arms and started pleading.

"M-master, P-please don't throw the food at Binky. Binky will make you whatever you like. Please don't throw your food in Binky's face!" She cried.

"Oh no…Binky. I just wanted you to eat…With me…" Sasuke narrowed his eyes and sat back.

"Are you afraid of me?" Sasuke asked.

Binky looked between her fingers before shutting her eyes.

"N-no master. Master is very kind… Binky will always obey master-"

"Then tell me the truth, Binky. Are you afraid of me?" Sasuke asked.

Binky had teary eyes and she pulled on her ears.

"Yes! Master. Binky is very afraid of master Sasuke!" She started sobbing uncontrollably. Sasuke looked awkwardly away from the house-elf, feeling very uncomfortable.

"Why?" Sasuke asked calmly, "was I not kind to you? You must excuse my memory. I have no recollection of anything that happened until after the incident." Sasuke tried to sound kind. He was afraid any shift of tone would frighten the house-elf.

"Master Sasuke would hurt Binky. Push Binky off the stairs and laugh at Binky. Master used to put Binky on fire and throw his food in Binky's face…"

Now Sasuke was the one who looked shocked.

"B-but why…Why would I do such things?" Sasuke asked in disbelief.

"House-elves are not treated kindly by a lot of wizarding families. House-elves are abused and mistreated." Binky's teary eyes looked at the floor. "Binky is loyal to master Sasuke. Binky was sad when Binky thought master Sasuke was dead."

"Why?...After all the horrible things I have done to you? Why would you be so kind to me?" Sasuke asked confused. "You work at Hogwarts now…"

"Because Binky thought master had died. B-but master is alive. Binky is loyal to master."

"Aren't you…Mad at me?" Sasuke asked, lowering his gaze to the floor. "Be honest, Binky."

"No…No…Binky is not mad at master. Master was just a child, it was not master's fault-"

"What do you mean it wasn't my fault? I put you on fire?!"

Binky jumped up and covered her face with her hands. Sasuke immediately acknowledge his mistake of raising his voice.

"M-master…Was raised…To believe…House-elves did not matter."

Sasuke's heart skipped a beat by hearing her words. He thought back of Hiashi Hyuuga and Naruto's words. How some families thought they were better than others…How they looked down on muggle-borns. He was no better than them. He was barley eight years old when he had been torturing his house-elf for the mere fun of it.

"You believe…the blame lies with my parents? To have raised me with such believes?" Sasuke asked her. "What did my parents do to stop me?"

"Master Fu-Fugaku did not care for Binky. Master Mi-Mikoto sometimes told you not to be too hard on Binky. She didn't want Binky to die. Finding good working house-elves was hard according to m-master Mikoto."

"Oh…Shit…" Sasuke thought of Hashirama's words. Who knew he came to find out sooner rather than later what he had meant.

"Was anybody in my family even nice?" Sasuke sighed, more to himself than to Binky.

"Master Itachi has always been v-very kind to Binky." Binky said. She stopped sulking. "Maser Itachi always told master Sasuke to stop hurting Binky. He helped Binky…He treated Binky's wounds….Master Itachi was truly kind to Binky…"

"He also slaughtered the entire family…" Sasuke looked up. "Binky….I am very sorry for what I have done to you when I was a child. I have changed. You can say I have gotten the correct parenting." Sasuke smiled when he thought of Obito.

"Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?"

Binky shook her head.

"N-no master Sasuke, Binky is your servant" She said.

"Would you like to be freed then? How do I give you your freedom?"

Binky's expression turned horrified as she started sobbing again.

"N-no master, please don't let Binky go. Binky has finally found master again. Binky wants to stay with master-"

"Alright…Whatever you want…" Sasuke said. "Would you like to be paid then?"

Binky started sobbing.

"Alright…Alright…Whatever makes you happy. No money then." Sasuke sighed, "Would you like to eat with me?" He indicated to the curry.

Binky smiled through her tears and finally accepted the dipped piece of breath Sasuke was holding.

"So…Does that mean when I ask you to clean this room. You would do so?" Sasuke asked.

"O-of course master! Binky would do it with pleasure"

"Ha…Nice.." Sasuke smiled slightly

They finished the food and Sasuke got up.

"Binky will clean-"

"No Binky, it is quite alright." Sasuke said. "You should bring the dishes back into the kitchen. This is my punishment. "

Binky nodded and disappeared into thin air.


	8. Chapter 8

Sasuke, a third year student in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, was scanning the frontpage of the Daily Prophet ` _Another Attack on Wizarding Family_ ´ He quickly read the article, before going over it one more time. Going word for word, to make sure he hadn´t missed a single thing.

There had been another attack on a wizarding family. The article stated it had been a two mentally challenged wizards that are now in for questioning. It was odd, these attacks have been happening the moment he started his third year. Now every month or so there was another headliner about an attack.

"Wouldn't you think after the sixth attack, they would look for the cause of all these unstable wizards?" Sasuke said out loud before putting the paper down.

"Are we reading the same paper?" Karin looked over her glasses at her two friends. Sasuke shared a quick clueless look with Suigetsu before looking back at Karin.

"They are covering up the Death Eaters by calling them mentally challenged wizards. They haven´t dealt with anything. They are just hiding their failures for the public." Karin pushed her glasses up her nose.

"Karin, nobody has seen a Death Eater in five years. We assume that dark-lord phase is over. The last attack in fourteen years happened by Sasuke's cray cray brother who slaughtered the clan because he was bored or something." Suigetsu stated.

Sasuke gave Suigetsu a quick glare.

"Don't be a moron. He is recruiting and strategizing. Our ministry just fails in seeing that. My mom says the attacks are most likely coming from the Akatsuki, a group of the top Death Eaters and they are after something. That is why the ministry can´t catch them and pins the attacks on some loonies."

"What would they be looking for then? If it were a bunch of dark wizards there must be something they want? Else it is stupid for them to come out of hiding?" Sasuke raised an questionable eyebrow. He had known about Jinchuriki's for over a year now. He had come to the conclusion that Karin knew her cousin was one as well, but kept that secret and would probably take it with her to the grave. Sasuke had tried to get her to spill it, but she was too clever for her own good.

"Something that could make him strong enough to conquer the wizarding world? A weapon he didn't have before?" Sasuke tried again. Karin frowned.

"You should be extra careful. Your brother is probably one of the Akatsuki."

"You talk so much about the dark-sides. Karin, who says you haven't joined them?" Suigetsu joked. "Your Uzumaki background and your sensory abilities alone will give you quit the high rank. You must say, being a general in a dark-wizard's army is more fun than helping us pass our arythmancy exams?" Suigetsu laughed.

"I would never be seen with such disgrace-"

"Are you talking to me, cousin?" Naruto interrupted Karin as he stood behind her.

Karin didn't turn around to look at Naruto. She stuck her nose in the air and just remained quiet.

"Hey Sasuke…Suigetsu" Naruto said. Chouji and Shikamaru were standing next to him. Shikamaru was quite bored and Chouji was eyeing the food on the Gryffindor table.

"I overheard professor Hataka talk about a duelling club. I think if there are enough members we might be able to learn how to handle ourselves around dark wizards and…Witches." He looked at the back of his cousin's head. "I hope you guys will sign up. You could get extra credit for D.A.D.A."

"If it does, I could use that!" Suigetsu shouted, grabbing Sasuke by his sleeve. "I need those credits, Sasuke. Just sign up for my sake!"

Naruto looked slightly confused and Karin finally turned her head to look her cousin in the eye.

"Sasuke has a 10 out of 10 for D.A.D.A. Extra credit won't do him any good."

"It would do me good," Chouji stated.

"Don't you think it is weird?" Shikamaru scoffed, causing both Naruto and Couji to sigh.

"Three wizarding families have been attacked by _'mentally challenged'_ wizards. It sounds like the Imperial curse to me." He put his arms behind his neck and looked away. Karin seemed rather interested and suddenly lost in thoughts.

"You both should become friends. Karin is all about the conspiracy theories. She thinks it are Death Eaters, or rather, an elite group of Death Eaters." Suigetsu notified them.

Naruto and Chouji laughed, but Shikmaru had a slight frown on his face before lowering his arms from behind his head.

"You will sign up right? Right now the only people who seemed interested were us, Sakura, Ino, Hinata and Neji and some of his friends." Naruto looked at Sasuke. "I think you can transfer the credits to another subject too…I think it was charms."

"He is also the top of the class in charms" Karin mentioned.

"But you aren't. So why don't you sign up?" Naruto asked.

"Because, stupid…" She didn't say another words and just got up and left the great hall.

"She is more into Arythmancy and Astronomy," Sasuke spoke on her behalf before looking at Suigetsu.

"She walks away so many times. I don't even know if it is because she is mad or because it became a habit." Suigetsu raised his shoulders in a not knowing way.

"We better get going…You don't want to be late for divination and have professor Kurenai tell us somebody is going to die again?" Suigetu sighed. He got up from the table.

"You two take Divination? You know she predicts somebody's death every year?" Naruto joked.

"You should have seen her in the first lesson. She went on and on about how somebody was going to experience the horrific deaths of their entire family by the closest person in their life. How blood will be spilled and how darkness would take over. She was totally in some trance and then Sasuke shouted at her that it already happened and she should tell him something he didn't know. It was brutal. I never saw professor Kurenai look so shocked!" Suigetsu laughed loudly. Naruto and Chouji joined him in his laughter.

"When I signed up for the class. I thought it was super cool. Like…I would know what I would have for dinner before it happened, but this entire time… I think it just death and torture and darkness." Sasuke shook his head.

"Don't let her predicts your death." Naruto joked as Sasuke and Suigetsu left The Great Hall.

They headed up to professor Kurenai's tower. Sasuke insisted on sitting somewhere in the back as he didn't want professor Kurenai to go all dark on him again. On every table there were two crystal orbs. Sasuke told Suigetsu how in the muggle world there were these scam artists that would predict your future with these and how one time, one of them told Sasuke he was going to learn about a horrified truth.

Suigetsu looked slightly confused, reminding Sasuke he did learn about the Uchiha massacre. Sasuke remained quiet for a moment…Wondering if every fortune teller was just a witch or wizard in the muggle world.

Professor Kurenai began her lesson and went on and on about the crystals. Sasuke was no longer paying attention to her as he was thinking about the duelling club. If it had enough members it would actually be cool. Sasuke could use the spells he read about in the library but was never able to use during the classes. It would have been the perfect opportunity to practice those spells. He would even have a valid reason to. But thinking of his other classes he was not so good at made him not want to waste time in a duelling club. He had to be better at Study of Ancient Runes. He couldn't believe how Karin had made him sign up for that class. Maybe if he would be able to transfer the credits to Arithmancy or Ancient Runes he would sign up.

Sasuke woke up from his thoughts when he suddenly felt professor Kurenai's hand on his shoulder. He stiffened and turned his head to look at her red eyes.

"My child, have you had a vision in the crystal ball you have been looking at the whole lesson!" She shouted out in the room full of excitement. At this point Sasuke was too embarrassed to say he had not been paying any attention.

"Tell me, Sasuke. What have you seen with your magnificent eyes?"

Her words just scared Sasuke, he looked at the crystal before looking back at her. He was too deep in this mess to back off now. He remembered the scam lady from the carnival. He looked in the crystal ball and moved his hand over it.

"Such rare technique. I have never seen something quite like it." Kurenai said in awe.

Sasuke regretted his action.

"I see….A…" Sasuke looked in the corner of his eyes to see if he could take a glimpse of a textbook, but unfortunately he had to make everything up from the top of his head.

"I see…A dark force!" Sasuke shouted remembering Karin talking about the Death Eaters. "It is strong…And...Uhm…Close." He swallowed. He didn't hear the teacher protesting so he continued.

"It is cold… I see white …And red." Sasuke was looking at the red and white table cloth. "I see two bodies…" He could see his own reflection and that of Kurenai in the crystal.

" A reaper near them!" He needed the class to gasp to make it seem believable. "He goes for the one in.." Sasuke looked at the ball. Seeing a yellow colour from a Hufflepuff tie "Yellow….He doesn't return for the ones…In… " He could see the green of his tie in crystal, "green."

He sat back and looked around the classroom.

"Oh wow that was intense. I should probably … Get some water…" Sasuke said looking at Kurenai who was staring intensely at the crystal.

"Interesting…"

She didn't seem to buy it.

"Ten points to Slytherin. Very well Sasuke, go ahead and grab a cup of water. Lie down if you have to. The first trance can have a toll on your third eye," She said kindly. Now Sasuke felt bad for lying. He got up and walked out of the classroom to get some water.

He was walking with the cup of water in his hand. He didn't want to return to divination. Maybe she realised he was full of lies by now.

"Mr Uchiha, do you have a reason to skip class?" Tobirama walked passed him in the hall and stopped as he looked at the glass Sasuke was holding before looking at Sasuke himself.

"I…I was allowed to get some water from Kurenai."

"Professor Kurenai," Tobirama corrected. "I must say I was very surprised when I heard you took divination. You seem to be the first Uchiha who ever did."

Sasuke was surprised Tobirama hadn't made him feel bad about himself.

"Most of your clan was smart enough to know they had no neck for divination." Tobirama said.

And…There it was.

"….Probably…" Sasuke said.

"I assume you heard about the duelling club."

Sasuke nodded.

"I was wondering if you were willing to join it? I have not seen your name on the sign-up list" Tobirama stated.

"I don't know, sir." Sasuke answered honestly.

"I assume you would want to use your time off trying to get your grade up for Ancient Runes or Arithmancy? Maybe even Potions?"

"Yes…Sir.." Sasuke said.

He felt every subject Tobirama mentioned was a slap in the face. He could easily drop Ancient Runes and change Arithmancy for Care for Magical Creatures and besides that…He was doing fine in potions. He was in the top five of the class. He wasn't doing bad at all for that subject. However, Tobirama seemed always disappointed with him.

"Well, I heard you are able to get the extra credits from the duelling club transferred to Ancient Runes-"

"Is it?!" Sasuke asked, almost dropped the glass of water. He managed to catch it with his other hand, but it slipped through it and shattered on the ground.

"Pathetic" Tobirama commented, "but to answer your question, for somebody who has a 10/10 for Defence Against the Dark Arts. It is only fair to have him transfer the credits to another subject of his. I expect to see your name on the participation list." With those words Tobirama left.

Sasuke grabbed his wand from his cloak and fixed the glass before grabbing it from the floor. He looked at the path Tobirama just walked off. It almost seemed he wanted Sasuke to join duelling club.

Later that day they were having lunch. Suigetsu laughed as he re-told what happened during divination, causing a lot of Slytherin's to laugh. Sasuke looked up from his plate feeling Karin's eyes on him.

"What?" He asked.

"Yellow?" She asked, raising an arrogant eyebrow.

"I just said whatever reflected on the crystal ball" Sasuke stated. Suigetsu was still sniggering.

"That is odd, you don't share that class with anybody from Hufflepuff" Karin said, pushing her glasses up her nose.

Sasuke frowned, thinking of the reflection of the Hufflepuff tie in the crystal. He was sure it had been somebody sitting not too far from them.

"I might have mistaken the colour in the heat of the moment."

Karin had made a valid point. Sasuke had to shake it off him. He told Karin and Suigetsu about his encounter with Tobirama in the hall ways and how he could get the credits from duelling club transferred to Ancient Runes or Arithmancy.

Suigetsu stuck his thumb up because his mouth was too full to talk. Karin didn't seem impressed, she leaned her head on her hand and looked at the teacher's table.

"Karin?" Suigetsu asked when he hastily swallowed his food.

Karin gave him an annoyed look.

"How do you think you can keep up? You already have Quidditch practice and 10 subjects you have to study for. Not to mention your performances in Ancient Runes and Arithmancy is a joke. You won't pass those classes even with the extra credit."

"Duelling club is on Sunday mornings. I can easily fit it in." Sasuke said, he looked over at the Gryffindor table. He saw Naruto swing his wand, making a paper airplane fly over the great hall. It then transformed into a crane.

"Besides, I am thinking of dropping Ancient Runes and Arithmancy. Switch to Care of Magical creators. I heard from Haku that it is easy and there is not a lot of homework. It is more of a…Pay attention and pass the class. Worst case scenario, I will take muggle studies and ace that class."

"Speaking of Muggle studies. I need you to help me with my essay about common muggle replacement for magic. You think you could just talk on about that box with the little people in it?" Suigetsu asked.

"It is called a television and no it is not a box with little people in it. Muggles are very smart, they have found a lot of alternative ways. I must say, they're doing a bit better than the wizarding world in term of entertainment and sufficiency. I was horrified to see the wizarding world was still writing with a quills. We have pens there. It is a lot less messy-"

"Are you serious!" Karin slammed the table with her fist, causing almost the entire table to look at her. "Ancient Runes and Arithmancy were the classes we were going to follow together!"

"Because you made it sound like fun. It is not," Sasuke sighed.

"Yeah…Maybe I am not fun." She got up.

"Stop walking away, Karin…" Suigetsu said calmly. "You can't keep doing that during every conflict."

"Yes, stop being childish," Sasuke seemed annoyed. Suigetsu inhaled deeply, feeling the next big fight coming.

"You're calling me childish?" She leaned in on the table, "And Tobirama just so happened to allow you to transfer the credits to subjects that have nothing to do with duelling? And it so happened after two years in Hogwarts, right at the moment when there are rapport of several mysterious attacks, Hogwarts decides to start a duelling club and oh…Look at that…You and Naruto are both pursued to join it? Not to mention about the extra magical barriers placed around the castle by Uzumakis?" She hissed.

" Wake up, Uchiha, your brother is right around the corner waiting to finish what he started!"

"Karin!" Suigetsu got up from the table. She was taking it too far with her dramatic behaviour.

Karin grabbed her bag from the floor and walked out of the great hall, a few people were staring at her storming off before looking at Sasuke.

"She…She didn't mean it…You know…" Suigetsu tried to defend her.

"I don't care…." Sasuke said.

She had, finally after all this time, betrayed her knowledge about her cousin's situation. She mentioned that the targeted people were Sasuke, for obvious reasons, and Naruto.

Sasuke looked over at the Gryffindor table. He saw Naruto getting up and walking towards the same direction as Karin had gone. Maybe it was coincidence…Perhaps he noted she was upset.

During transfiguration Karin didn't show up and it left both Sasuke and Suigetsu a bit worried. Karin was a difficult girl to get along with. She was a complex person with a lot of issues, but she was their friend.

"Karin must be pretty upset," Suigetsu noted. "I don't get her." He sighed.

They walked outside, Sasuke had quidditch practice and Suigetsu and Karin mostly watch at the tribunes and do their homework. This time it was just Suigetsu.

"I don't understand. Even if everything she said is true…Why would she be mad at us for joining duelling club?" Sasuke asked. Suigetsu pulled his shoulder up.

"Maybe…She wants us to ask her to join too?" Suigetsu suggested.

"Naruto did," Sasuke remembered. He looked at a crowd of people, standing around something. They were cheering like there was some fight happening or something.

"You want to see two people throw jinxes at one another?" Suigetsu said excitedly. He grabbed Sasuke by his shoulder and didn't see what Sasuke saw at the moment he turned his head.

There, hanging upside down and holding on the her skirt was Karin Uzumaki. The group of students were laughing not simply cheering for a fight to happen. Her glasses fell on the floor and she was crying loudly.

"Karin!" Sasuke shouted as he ran towards the crowd. Suigetsu looked confused, but followed Sasuke. It took him a few seconds before he caught on to the situation.

Sasuke pushed a few people on the side before getting to the scene. He grabbed his wand an pointed it at Karin. She fell down right away, just when Suigetsu ran underneath her and caught her in his arms.

"Oh look at that, come to safe your girlfriend, Uchiha? You should teach your woman not to have such a big mouth."

There in front of a group of boys from different houses was Neji Hyuuga, holding his wand up.

Sasuke hissed as he stood in front of Karin and Suigetsu.

" Well look at that, Sasuke Uchiha, the last Uchiha, is protecting his little girlfriend!" Neji shouted in a taunting voice, looking at the group of people standing around them.

Karin was holding onto Suigetsu, burying her face in his chest as he had wrapped his arms around her. The group was making kissing noises behind Neji.

"You must be feeling very proud of yourself. Bullying little girls. And you dare to call yourself a prideful clan?" Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "You should be ashamed."

Neji lowered his wand, his eyes gave Sasuke an arrogant look. He turned himself around, before suddenly turning around and aiming his wand at Sasuke.

"Everte Statum!"

Sasuke flew backward and hit the ground right on his shoulder. He hissed, feeling the pain go through his body. He could hear the group of people laugh.

"Sasuke!" Karin shouted.

"The all mighty Uchiha, everybody! Can't even defend himself from one simple spell." He laughed loudly. "No wonder they are all dead now!"

Sasuke got up from the ground and picked up his wand.

"You want to fight" He hissed between gritted teeth. "You will get a fight."

"Stupefy!" Sasuke casted the spell.

Neji quickly jumped away, causing the spell to hit the Ravenclaw boy instead. He flew backwards and was out cold on the grass. Two girls ran towards him.

"You filthy…" Neji hissed, "Locomotor Mortis!" He shouted the spell. Sasuke cartwheeled away, the spell missing him completely. He ran towards Neji.

"Expelliarmus!" The Hyuuga shouted. He was angry as it seemed he was on the losing side of the fight.

"Glacias!" The grass between them turned into a layer of ice and Sasuke slit over it.

The spell Neji casted missed him by a hair.

He kicked Neji in the knee, causing the Hyuuga to fall on the grass screaming in pain. He let go of his wand and grabbed his knee, pulling it towards him. He rolled to his side, opening his eyes.

He could see a lot of people laughing and pointing at him. His hate only boiled more, he reached for his wand, but hissed in pain when Sasuke put his foot on Neji's wrist. His wand only centimetres away from the top of his fingers. He rolled back on his back. He was panting before looking at the yew-wood wand that was pointed at his chest. He looked from the wand into the onyx eyes he despised with every inch of his body.

"Do it then…Show me …How big of a wizard you….Are" He hissed in between pants.

"You are pathetic," Sasuke said, lowering his wand before stepping off Neji's wrist. He turned himself around to go to Karin and Suigetsu.

Suigetsu was smiling.

"You were wonderful!" Suigetsu said, his arm still wrapped around Karin who was still hiding half her face in Suigetsu's chest. She let go of Suigetsu and embraced Sasuke. Sasuke looked awkward and slightly panicky at Suigetsu who chuckled.

"Thank you…" She whispered.

A spell suddenly hit her in the back and she fell forwards on the grass.

Neji had grabbed his wand and like the snake he was, wanted to jinx Sasuke behind his back, but caught Karin instead. Sasuke quickly casted a shielding charm, allowing one of the spells Neji had casted to bounce off the shield and hit one of neji's friends instead. The person fell on the floor and shouted while covering his face.

Sasuke turned his head to Karin. She had gotten on her knees and her hands were touching her face franticly. Suigetsu's eyes were wide open and he grabbed his stomach before running behind a tree and barfed.

Karin's was sobbing uncontrollingly.

"Karin…" Sasuke put his hand on his friend's shoulder, wondering what spell had hit her and made Suigetsu vomit.

"DON'T LOOK AT ME!" She cried out, covering her face with her hands before running off.

"Karin!" Sasuke called after her. He looked at Suigetsu coming back from the tree, wiping his mouth. He shook his head, his expression still horrified.

"What hit her?" Sasuke asked, but it just made Suigetsu sick again.

Sasuke ran after her. But she was fast. She ran in the girl's bathroom and locker herself inside one of the stalls. Sasuke didn't hesitate to follow her inside the girl's bathroom. It was deserted. He looked at the stalls. Sasuke could still hear her sobbing.

He stopped in front of the closed stall door. He wanted to push it open, but he hissed raising his right arm. His shoulder was hurting him. He had landed pretty badly on it.

"A-are you….Hurt?" She sniffed.

"No," Sasuke lied. "Will you open the door?"

"No…" She said sobbingly.

The door of the girls bathroom got pushed roughly open and for a moment he thought it was Suigetsu, but running inside was Naruto.

"Karin?!" He looked at Sasuke.

Sasuke indicated to the stall before shaking his head. Naruto looked very concerned and walked to the stall.

"Karin, what happened?" He asked.

"Go away!" She cried out.

"What happened?" Naruto whispered as he looked at Sasuke. "Haku told me he saw Karin run here crying."

"It was Neji. Apparently he and his friends have been going after her for a while now," Sasuke whispered. "We got into a fight and …He hit Karin with some spell and she was devastated and ran here."

"He jinxed her?" Naruto asked seriously. "That son of a bitch!" He was about to storm out of the bathroom, but Sasuke grabbed him by his arm.

"He is not important now!" Sasuke pulled Naruto back ,"she is…" he indicated to the door. Naruto pulled his arm back and looked annoyed, but gave in. He was standing in front of the stall door.

"Karin…I'm your cousin. We grew up under one roof. Come on…Let me help you." Naruto said. He leaned his forehead against the door and sighed. "Karin…Come on.."

The door unlocked and Naruto took a step back. Karin slowly moved the door open ne revealed her face.

Sasuke raised a questionable eyebrow, but- unlike Suigetsu- he did not puke by the sight of giant pimples covering his friend's face.

"Oh come on Karin. It is just the Furnunculus Jinx. I practically invented that one" Naruto did not seem repelled by the puss dripping pimples as he just went ahead to hugged his cousin tightly.

"You tell me the name of every one of them and I will curse them. One by one." Naruto whispered. Karin didn't say anything and she just proceeded to hide her pimple filled face in his cousin's chest. To Sasuke´s relief.

"Alright, I am going to get you a Cure for Boils potion by lady Shizune. You stay here." Naruto said. Karin nodded and let go of his cousin.

"I will go with you!" Sasuke quickly said, not wanting to look at her face for a second longer. He rushed after Naruto.

"Hey, I heard what you did for her" Naruto mentioned after a short silence between the two.

"What?" Sasuke asked confused. Walking up the stairs.

"How you duelled Neji because he was bullying her." He sighed deeply before he stopped walking. He scratched the back of his head.

" Listen…Karin can be a handful, I know. Believe me I live with her. She can be very mean and manipulative… But…She never really had any friends before you guys and…Seeing her eagerly write you guys over the summer and talk about you all the time at home. You guys mean a lot to her. I guess I am just saying…Thank you for being her friend." He looked up from the floor right in Sasuke's eyes when he said the last couple of words.

"I don't have a lot of friend either. There is something about being the only sufiver of a massacre that doesn't make you so appealing to befriend," Sasuke joked. Naruto laughed as they made their way to Lady Shizune. They explained the situation and she looked at her medicine cabinet. She had a disappointing look on her face before facing the boys.

"I am afraid I don't have any Cure for Boils anymore." She said sadly. "I think if you go to professor Senju, and ask him kindly, he will allow you to brew some. I believe he has all the materials at hand."

"Professor Senju?!" Sasuke turned around, "Well sucks to be Karin."

Naruto grabbed him by his shoulder. "You duelled a Hyuuga, but don't want to ask professor Senju for a favour?"

"Yeah, I would get hurt for her, not spend 20 minutes in hell" Sasuke argued. Naruto gave Sasuke a quick glare and he sighed. "Fine!" He agreed.

They headed to Tobirama's classroom and to their luck he was still there. He seemed slightly annoyed seeing the two walk in.

"Professor Senju," Sasuke spoke before looking at Naruto.

"Lady Shizune is out of Boil Cure. We were wondering if we could brew some." Naruto said.

"We really need it." Sasuke added.

"Do you two even remember what goes in a Boil Cure?" Tobirama asked in a not caring way.

Naruto looked at Sasuke who looked back at Naruto.

"Uhm…"

"I taught you this in your first year." Tobirama reminded them, not looking impressed at all.

"6..Snakes fangs?" Sasuke hesitated.

"And dried nettles" Naruto added, "Pungeos Onions"

"Yes and uhm..4 horned slugs…Or was it two… No four and 2 porcupine quills?" Sasuke added

"Yes, and Ginger root an shrake spines," Naruto said.

"Oh and Flobberworm Mucus!" Sasuke quickly remembered.

"Hnn..Look at you two being a dream team." Tobirama said sarcastically. He found both of them pathetic even though they were taught that potion years ago.

"How bad is Karin doing?" He asked. Sasuke and Naruto shared a quick look. Both amazed how Tobirama knew.

"She is the only person that is both your mutual. It is not hard, it is called being smart." Tobirama got up from behind his desk and walked to the cupboard to grab all the supplies. "Karin will have to wait just a bit longer in the girl's bathroom."

Naruto looked amazed at Professor Senju who was now brewing the potion.

"How did he…?"

"You have toilet paper on your shoe" Sasuke interrupted Naruto.

"And Mr Uchiha…" Sasuke's heart skipped a beat. Tobirama had it out for him and he was just waiting for him to give detention or take points from Slytherin.

"Next time you duel somebody, let that be during duelling club. You seem to have a lot left to learn. "

Now Sasuke looked surprised at Tobirama. How did he knew he fought Neji.

"News spreads fast." Professor Senju put the potion in a flash and handed it to him.

Sasuke quickly nodded while Naruto thanked him. They left the classroom and walked towards the girl's bathroom.

"Naruto, Sasuke!"

The two quickly turned around to see Haku ran up to them. Haku was a fifth year in Hufflepuff. He was holding Karin's glasses in his hands.

"Here…I found them in the field after the chaos." He said, handing the glasses to Naruto. "I heard you really gave Neji a beating outside. I am looking forwards to learn by your side during duelling club." Haku said.

"Thank you…" Sasuke said, looking a bit awkward. Haku was always so nice and it always seemed genuine. Sasuke had no idea how to act around him.

"Oh and Naruto…Shikamaru told me the thing in the room is doing it again? I am not sure what that means, but…You probably do." Haku waved a quick goodbye before walking the other direction.

"He is pretty…Can you believe he is a boy?" Naruto said, not seeming to care for the message he received. He turned around to look at Haku.

Sasuke rolled his eyes by Naruto's action.

"Hnn…" Sasuke just continued his path towards the girl's bathroom. He climbed up the stairs and immediately regretted taking the short-cut.

"Tch.." Sasuke reached for his wand, seeing Neji and his friends down the hall.

"Hey Uchiha! How's your girlfriend doing? Looking as repulsive as her attitude?" Neji laughed, ignoring the fact he was looking like a wreck from the beating he had already received, but it seemed he didn't want to appear weak in front of his friends.

"You want to go again?" Sasuke hissed, taking a step forward causing Neji to give him a repulsive look.

"I was going easy on you. Just imagine in how much trouble I would be if I killed the last Uchiha. I just wanted to see what you could do…Disappointing actually."

Naruto just made his way up the stairs and was relieved to see Sasuke since he had lost him for a second. He looked past Sasuke and saw Neji and his friends down the hall. Naruto's expression immediately changed into a dark one. He stormed towards Neji, pulling his wand out of his cloak.

"You foul loathsome evil little cockroach!" He shouted pointing his wand right under Neji's chin. Neji's eyes widened in fear and his friends already took their chances to flee the moment they saw Naruto. There was this big energy coming off him. It gave the entire hall a dangerous and evil feeling.

"Naruto don't!" Sasuke warned him. "He is just going to get you in trouble…" he slowly approached Naruto, he put his hand over Naruto's, lowering his wand, "He isn't worth it…"

Sasuke didn't mean cursing Neji or disfiguring his face for that matter. He was talking about Naruto getting worked up and angry. It seemed it caused the magic of the demon-fox to slightly come out.

Neji looked relieved. He cracked a smile.

"Come.. Let's go." Sasuke said, continued his way down the hall but just when he set a first few steps he heard a cry of pain and he quickly turned around. Naruto had punched Neji right in the nose before grabbing him by his collar and pushing him against the brick wall.

"If I see you even batching an eye on her. I will kill you…" He whispered something before letting go of Neji. His body slit onto the floor and he was moaning in pain while holding his face.

"Come on, Sasuke." He said as he passed Sasuke to the girl's bathroom.

Sasuke swallowed, biting down his lip. He gave Neji a quick look before jogging behind Naruto. He had never seen Naruto behave like that. It was a whole other side…A whole other side that awoken some sort of admiration in Sasuke. A wizard dirtying his hands to punch a bitch in the face. Sasuke felt his head heat up. Who knew Naruto Uzumaki had a mean right hook.

They entered the girl's bathroom. Sasuke slit the potion under the bathroom stall and it took five minutes before Karin finally came out. Her face looked normal again.

"And your glasses." Naruto handed Karin her glasses.

Karin looked relieved before wrapping her arms around both Sasuke and Naruto.

Sasuke and Naruto shared a quick look with one another before laughing.


	9. Chapter 9

It was Sunday morning, almost lunch time, Sasuke Uchiha was standing on a podium that reached from the one wall of the room to the opposite one. The curtains of the windows were shut, doors closed and the only light source were the many candles levitating in the room. He held his wand in front of him, having it pointed at Shikamaru Nara. His dark coloured, long and slightly bended wand was pointing right back at Sasuke. Shikamaru´s left arm rose over his head. Everybody was staring in anticipation, waiting for one of them to make a move. It was quiet, if a needle would fall it would echo through the room.

"Diffindo!" Shikamaru broke the calm and stepped forward as he casted the spell. Sasuke made a somersault, the spell going over his head. He landed on one knee.

"Aguamenti!"

A big stream of water came from the end of Sasuke's wand and pushed Shikamaru in the air. The Uchiha got back on his feet.

"Glacius!" The water froze, leaving Shikamaru torso stuck in a block of ice. He moved his arms and legs, but it was in vain.

"Tch…I knew this club would have been troublesome" He hissed.

The other members of the club started applauding. Sasuke lowered his wand while a cocky expression appeared on his face.

"Very good, Sasuke. That was a great combination of spells and a good defence," Kakashi said, he climbed up the podium and pointed his wand at the ice. It melted and Shikamaru fell on his butt. He groaned; his clothes were wet and now his butt was hurting too.

"So, Shikamaru. What could you have done better?" Kakashi asked.

"Not fight an Uchiha?" Shikamaru said sarcastically.

Some people started laughing at his sarcastic comment.

"I guess…I should have used a fire spell to make the water evaporate, but I don't think I was able to produce flames that could have matched that flow of water."

"You should have used a shieling charm, Mr Nara. They are underrated spells, but highly important. It could save your live in a battle," Kakashi gave a small nod. Shikamaru jumped off the stage and dried himself off with a spell that caused warm air to come from the tip of his wand.

Sasuke was looking at Suigetsu who put his thumb up. Karin wasn't smiling. She did however give her cousin a cocky look. Naruto Uzumaki didn't seem to care for it much.. He had his hand on Shikamaru's shoulder smiling at him. Not sure if he was trying to cheer him up or if he was laughing at him. Either way, Sasuke noted Naruto had pretty sharp canines that were sticking out slightly. It gave the boy an unique trade which was…Cute.

"And Mr Uchiha?" Tobirama's voice killed the mood in the room right away. He was leaning against the wall right next to the exit.

Sasuke quickly looked away from Naruto to Tobirama. Of course he had to burst his bubble.

"What could you have done better?"

"Trick question, I totally had him. I defended and attacked where he was weak," Sasuke said, he closed his eyes while folding his arms. The grin was still spread across his face. It was almost like the Uchiha felt invincible.

"Not at all. You were reckless, too full of yourself and your timing was off," Tobirama noted.

Sasuke's eyes shot open and a nerve popped in his forehead.

"It has been three weeks and each time I take your critique and adjust to it. First it was no good defence and then it was a lousy attack and then it was not being level headed. Is there anything you consider good….Professor?" Sasuke said, raising his voice slightly.

"What? " Kakashi put his hand aside his mouth as he whispered to Sasuke, "Noticed your rude tone and added 'professor' in the end to sound polite?" Kakashi scoffed, "You're dead, Uchiha." He whispered as he past the boy before jumping off the podium.

Sasuke gave professor Hatake a confused, looking over his shoulder before looking back at Tobirama. The potion master unfolded his arms and walked towards the podium, stepping on it.

"Of course, if you fight a bunch of buffoons," He grabbed his wand from his cloak and stood in a ready position. "You can get away with many mistakes. However, when you face a wizard above your skillset, you will experience trouble."

Everybody in the room held their breaths. Sasuke smirked. How many unforgivable curses he wanted to sling towards the teacher he hated the most out of every teacher he has ever had. And he was the student of a nun that accused him of being a demon and almost drowned him trying to free him from the devil.

"Sir, it is rude to call my classmates a bunch of baffoons," Sasuke was overly confident and he stood ready, his wand pointed at Tobirama.

"Oh so we are really doing this?" Kakashi asked nonchalant. "Fine…Wands ready…On the count of three…1…2..3!"

There was a moment where neither of them moved. Sasuke figured he take his chances and cast a spell that would once and for all shut Tobirama Senju up.

"Impedimenta!"

Tobirama moved his wand up and down and the spell was blocked by a shield. He suddenly disappeared from his position. Sasuke's eyes widened.

Did Tobirama Senju just flee?

He felt a hand push him from behind. He fell forward and quickly looked behind him. Tobirama was standing there and before Sasuke knew it, he was hanging upside down in the air.

He could hear laughter coming from the class, but the one he noted the most was that of Naruto Uzumaki. Not per se because he was being the loudest, no that title went to Sakura Haruno. He voice just seem to be more recognisable from all the others.

"Now, Mr Uchiha, could you tell me what you did wrong?" Tobirama repeated his question. Now he was looking amused at the sight of the Uchiha hanging upside down.

"I was reckless…Too full of myself…And my timing was off…" Those words tasted bitter in his mouth.

"Very well. So what will you do next time?" Tobirama asked.

"Not be reckless, not be too full of myself and focus on my timing" Sasuke sighed.

"I didn't hear you, Mr Uchiha" Tobirama saw Sasuke's expression darken. He moved his wand when he turned around. Sasuke fell on the ground and he hissed, grabbing his wand that had fallen on the stage.

"You are being too tough on the brat. He is doing very well. If he keeps up, he might become a very good auror," Kakashi said to Tobirama. Looking too amused for the current situation.

"Both his mother and brother were performing better at this age than he does right now" Tobirama answered, leaning his back against the wall.

"Of course, they grew up around magic. He was obliviated," Kakashi defended the boy. He looked at Sasuke seeing him rub his head as he stood with his friends. "You should see his process from a muggle-born stand point at this point."

"That is not an excuse to slack as much as he does," Tobirama said. He clapped his hands together, getting everybody attention right away.

"That is it for today. You can all go now." He announced in the classroom

Everybody listened and they left the room to head to the great hall for lunch.

"That boy has the potential, just not the motivation," Tobirama said to Kakashi.

"Doesn't that remind you of somebody?" Kakashi smiled, thinking of himself during his days in Hogwarts.

"No you were lazy, Hatake. You still are," Tobirama disappeared after saying those words, leaving the professor of Defence Against the Dark Arts alone. Kakashi scoffed.

"I got out of bed, didn't I?" Kakashi muttered to himself.

Heading towards the Great hall for lunch were the fifteen members of the duelling club. Naruto walked towards Sasuke and Suigetsu.

"Hey you were really great out there, dattebayo!" Naruto wrapped an arm around each of them. Suigetsu looked surprised by Naruto's sudden physical contact. Sasuke looked slightly annoyed.

"Well, Tobi-Jerk made fool of me," Sasuke seemed annoyed.

"Tobi-Jerk? You Slytherins can't come up with anything good now, can you? First that horrible quidditch cheer and now Tobi-Jerk?" Kiba said, putting his arms behind his head.

"We can't help you guys suck," Karin said. "Sasuke is just a better player."

"Hey, where is the family loyalty?" Naruto looked annoyed at his cousin who didn't give him a second look.

"He just catches the snitch. Chasers have it way harder!" Naruto let go of Suigetu, keeping his arm around Sasuke. "You should teach me how to do that water and ice spells," Naruto said.

"You should go to Haku, he is the expert in ice spells. He actually taught me." Sasuke turned his head to Haku. He smiled a bit nervously by the mention of his name.

"You are flattering me, Sasuke. But you really made it your own move out there," he said, looking very admirable. He was about to take a turn. Sasuke found it confusing because neither the Hufflepuff basement nor the Great hall was there.

"Where are you going?" Sasuke stopped walking and Naruto hadn't noticed until his arm felt empty. He stopped and turned his head around while the others walked ahead.

"Oh…" Haku's cheeks slightly turned red, "I am just…Going to the bathroom" He said. Sasuke raised a questionable eyebrow, looking from the toilet 5 meters from them ,which they had just passed, before looking back at Haku.

"I will see you at lunch! Later…" He said before disappearing around the corner. Sasuke looked at Naruto who raised his shoulders. "We all have bathrooms we prefer over others, dattebayo."

"I don't. Do you?" Sasuke asked as they continued their way to the Great hall.

"Yeah totally, some toilets are just…Better environments, you know?" Naruto scratched his cheek uneasily.

"You don't poop in certain bathroom?" Sasuke translated his sentence.

"Some are just…Better!" Naruto immediately defended himself. He was surprised Sasuke cracked his code so fast.

"Who knew the great Naruto Uzumaki is poop shy?" Sasuke teased him. Naruto's face tuned red and his expression angered slightly.

"Oh come on! We all have something odd! Dattebayo! Chouji farts in his sleep. Kiba occasionally barks and Shikamaru….Well he is just odd."

They reached The Great Hall and Sasuke turned to Naruto.

"And you can't keep secrets, can you?" Sasuke sniggered, "Because not only will you four be known as Fart-boy, Barky, Weirdo and Blabbermouth. You basically brought this to yourself."

Naruto remained quiet and was deeply in thoughts.

"You shut your mouth and I will shut mine about you peeing your pants in The Great Hall?" Naruto said, looking seriously.

"I never-" Naruto grabbed a bottle of water from the first-year passing by him and squeezed it in the direction of Sasuke's pants.

"That is a deal then!" He threw the bottle back at the first year and ran towards the Gryffindor table. Sasuke narrowed his eyes, giving Naruto an annoyed look.

"Moron!" He shouted after him. He walked to the Slytherin table and sat next to Suigetsu. He grabbed his wand and aimed at his lap. A warm wind came from the top of his wand and his pants dried in no time.

"Hey, what were you talking about with Naruto?" Karin questioned.

"Nothing really. Apparently he does his business in like one bathroom because the environment suits him or whatever…" Sasuke spoke. He looked over Karin at the Gryffindor table.

Karin turned her head around and looked at her cousin before looking back at Sasuke. She seemed puzzled.

"He told you that?" She whispered softly

"O.M.G , she has the same thing." Suigetsu suddenly noted and turned his head to Sasuke.

"Shut up! We are having lunch!" She hissed, "I am not going to discuss this any further!"

"It could be an Uzumaki thing?" Sasuke added, looking at Suigetsu. They both started laughing and Karin didn't seem to like it one bit. However, this time she didn't walk away from it.

They were eating lunch until Anko suddenly put her hand on Sasuke's shoulder, causing him to almost choke in his food. He coughed a couple of time before turning around. She gave an apologetic look.

"Zabuza wants to practice this afternoon. He wants to see everybody on the field at 13:00" She announced. Sasuke nodded quickly drinking some water. His throat was hurting from almost choking.

"What about homework?" Karin asked.

"We need to finish divination today…" Suigetsu sighed, "I haven't even started yet."

"Same…" Sasuke sighed.

"Didn't we have the Ancient Rune passage to translate?" Karin reminded him.

"Oh yea…"Sasuke muttered.

"Arithmancy has to be done by Tuesday." Suigetsu added. "And we gotta do it today because we can basically just copy from Karin while she blabbers on."

Karin gave him a quick glare.

"Oh shit, I have completely forgotten about that." Sasuke got up. "I have to get my quidditch gear. I will see you two after practise in the library?" He was already walking away from the table while he said it.

"You should take your goggles it's raining outside," Karin shouted after him. Sasuke stuck his thumb in the air.

Sasuke quickly got dressed in his quidditch gear and rushed to the field, seeing almost every player there. Stretching intensely in the heavy rain. Sasuke quickly stood next to Anko and repeated her moves.

"I am too late?" Sasuke whispered.

"I don't think he noticed your five minutes of absence," Anko spoke softly. She moved her torso forwards, grabbing her ankles. Sasuke did the same and he could see through his leg at the tribunes. Standing there was Haku, holding an umbrella and watching the practice. Why he was doing that was unclear to Sasuke. Haku waved at him quickly before sticking his thumb up.

"You know her?" Anko asked getting back up.

"Uhm…Yeah, that is Haku. I am in the duelling club with him," Sasuke answered, holding the position from before. He felt somebody kick him in his butt, and he fell forward on the grass, making a forced somersault before landing with his butt on the grass.

"You think I haven't noticed you showing five minutes late to practice!?" Zabuza huge frame was blocking the rain from falling on Sasuke.

"Cut me some slack, I had duelling club in the morning," Sasuke said.

"I told you the moment that stupid club starts to interfere with quidditch-" He stopped screaming and took a deep breath. That was strange for Zabuza's standers as he had major anger issues. He quickly glimpsed over his shoulder at Haku before eyeing Sasuke.

"Don't be late again," he said. "It pains me to replace you with Hyuuga. Don't make me." He walked to the back of the line.

"Did you see that?" Sasuke was astonished.

"Yeah, I heard he goes to mandatory anger management assigned by the wizarding court," Anko said. "My mum was the judge on that."

"No, he looked at Haku before being nice." Sasuke got up from the ground, "you think he has a crush on him or something?" Sasuke quickly looked at Haku who was waving at Zabuza.

"Nah…Zabuza isn't a homosexual" Anko said. She examined Haku. "I thought that was girl."

She observed at Zabuza before looking back at Haku.

"Nah…Look at Zabuza. He couldn't be..." she confirmed to herself, "I could break that little boy's body using one arm." She flexed the muscles in her arm looking rather proud. Sasuke looked a bit jealousy, whishing he could do push-ups effortlessly like Anko could.

They did more exercises before they quickly played a game against each other. It was the 7 regular players and 7 substitutes mixed in two teams. It didn't take very long as Sasuke had caught the snitch within 20 minutes of the game to Neji's great displeasure.

They cleaned up. Most of them were already heading to the showers to take a warm long shower after this cold, rainy training.

"Hey, you were really good out there!" Haku walked on the field. "It is really nice to watch you fly on your broom. You fly very elegantly."

"Uhm…Thank, Haku," Sasuke said a bit awkward. "Why are you out in the rain?" He asked him. A questioned that bothered him during the entire training.

"Oh, well Zabuza promised to help me with potions. I figured I would wait for him here." Haku smiled kindly.

"You asked help from Zabuza? You know he is repeating his 7th year?" Sasuke raised a questionable eyebrow. Haku laughed it off before taking his leave.

"Oi Uchiha, hot shower!" Zabuza shouted at him.

"I am going to practice a bit more!" Sasuke said, releasing the snitch.

"If you dare to become sick, you are dead." With that warning he left for the dressing rooms.

An hour passed and Sasuke figured he had to get back to the library before Karin accuses him from stalling his homework. He didn't want to admit she was right. He put everything away and headed for the dressing rooms.

He walked inside, already untying his green cloak and taking his gloves off. He heard a couple of faint noises coming from the showers. He looked at the direction. The noise repeated itself a couple of times…It sounded like moaning. He wondered if somebody was in pain…Maybe Zabuza slipped in the shower and hurt his back. The idea was slightly amusing.

"Ah, harder~!"

Sasuke suddenly heard a familiar voice moan. His eyes widened. One side of his brain had a slight idea what was going on. The other parts didn't seem to want to admit it. He had to get a clear answer, and he couldn't really figure out why he did what he did…But he had to.

He walked towards the showers and poked his head in and immediate out. His heart skipped a beat and he had to wrap his hand over his mouth to stop him from making any noise. He quickly grabbed his glove and wet cloak before walking out of the locker room. He carefully closed the door behind.

He was about to walk away. Leave the scene and never think about it again in his life. Although the image of Zabuza's hairy butt was still burned in his retina. However, the moment he turned around he saw the entire Gryffindor quidditch team stand in front of him. They were about the enter the changing rooms.

"Hey, move. We need to change and practice" Kiba said. Sasuke looked over his shoulder at the door. He could just walk away…But he would put Haku, somebody who had always been nice to Sasuke and his quidditch captain in a very embarrassing situation. He wasn't sure if it was a sense of loyalty or maybe comradery…But he didn't move.

"No…" He said, leaning against the door frame.

"Sasuke, move, don't be a jerk, dattebayo," Naruto said before any of the other Gryffindors could even start shouting at him.

"I could…Do that…I mean…I am able to...Move…Aside…"Sasuke was not good at stalling…Or warning.

"But…There is a big spider in there…I am talking…this big!" He separated his hands about thirty centimetres apart. "Yeah…Zabuza is uhm…Trying to kill it!"

"NO! DON'T KILL THEM THEY ARE HIGHLY MISUNDERSTOOD BEINGS!" Naruto tried to get past Sasuke and Sasuke had to use all his strength to keep Naruto outside the changing rooms. The commotion certainly creating enough sound to alert the two inside.

"No! No! It is dangerous and…Dangerous!" He didn't know what to say anymore. The door behind him slung open and Zabuza and Haku were fully dressed in wet clothes and their faces were very red.

"What is going on here?!" Zabuza shouted annoyed.

"Oh…So you guys...Killed the spider?" Sasuke asked, looking over his shoulder while holding Naruto off.

"Yea?" Zabuza looked away, folding his big arms over his broad chest.

"No! No!" Haku quickly corrected him, "we set it free!"

"Where?" Kiba asked, "there ain't no windows there."

"Really….Now you are smart?" Sasuke narrow his eyes at Kiba who stuck his middle finger at him.

"Where is it!?" Naruto finally stopping trying to get past Sasuke.

"We killed it! Case closed!" Zabuza shouted. He grabbed Haku by his arm and Sasuke by his collar and pulled them away. But not before, bumping against the Gryffindor quidditch captain and snarling at him for no apparent reason beside their rivalry on the field.

Naruto was shouting at them from the background, nobody paid attention to him and his magical beings speech anymore. Kiba ended up pushing him in the changing room by using a spell.

"Sasuke…Uhm…" Haku seemed nervous as he looked away from Sasuke and then back. "Thank you".

"So…This is a regular thing?" Sasuke asked, looking from Haku to Zabuza before pulling away from him. The back of his neck hurt from his captain pulling his collar so hard. "Because I don't want to go in those showers again."

"You shouldn't , believe me, there is a lot of sex going on in those showers." Zabuza said. "By us" he high-fives Haku. Haku immediately turned a light shade of pink after the realization that Sasuke was still among them.

"If there is anything we could do for you. Anything. It means a lot to us that you protected our dignity there." Haku smiled kindly. "Just imagine if the Gryffindor team walking in."

Zabuza smirked a bit, but his smirk got wiped off by Haku who slapped him on his arm.

"I will keep you to it," Sasuke said, shoving his wet hair out of his face. He felt a shiver going through his spine and he quickly covered his nose and mouth in his arm as he sneezed.

"WHAT DID I TELL YOU ABOUT GETTING SICK!" Zabuza shouted angerly, trying to grab Sasuke by his quidditch cloak, but Sasuke jumped backwards and made a backwards handstand before running past Zabuza.

"I am never showering in these showers again!" He shouted as he ran towards the Slytherin dungeons.

Zabuza shook his head, looking furious as the direction his seeker just ran off too.

Haku folding both his arms around one of Zabuza's huge biceps before leaning his head against the man he loved.

Oxoxoxox

It was dinner time and Sasuke was silently eating from his plate while Karin was telling a story about what happened in the library.

Haku walked passed the Slytherin table. He gave Sasuke a quick wave before walking over to the Hufflepuff table. Sasuke didn't return it. Instead he looked down at his plate. Both Karin and Suigetsu gave each other a quick look before focussing on Sasuke.

"Hey, you alright?" Karin asked.

"Yeah. Just hungry," Sasuke spoke.

"Hey, look at the table next-"

Sasuke coughed loudly, almost choking again on his food when he misheard Suigetsu, thinking he said 'Anal Sex' instead of 'table next'.

He grabbed his glass of water and quickly gulped it down.

"You need to learn to chew better…." Karin commented before turning her head to the next table.

Naruto, who had recently entered the hall, was holding a bunch of flyers and buttons. He talked to some people. Most people looked a bit annoyed at him.

"What is he doing…" Karin sighed, staring at her cousin. Who apparently noticed her right away.

"Karin!" Naruto said, giving her a button. He put down the box with flyers and buttons on the table.

"What is this?" She asked, looking at the strange abbreviation. She handed it to Suigetsu who held it up. Sasuke was looking over Suigetu's shoulder at it.

"It stands for The Society for the Promotion of Magical Creatures Welfare and Awareness," Naruto said, giving Sasuke a quick glance.

"I think you need a better name if you want it to catch on," Sasuke said, now holding the button himself. He examined it thoroughly.

"It is so people like you won't kill harmless animals!" Naruto said, frowning slightly.

"Naruto, it was just a spider. A regular spider, not a magical one."

"They are called Acromantula and you would have known that if you were…" He tapped on the 'A' from Awareness.

"And this is not just because of today. You know Hogwarts owns hundreds of housel-elves that work very day for nothing? They cook our food, clean our stuff, do our laundry. They are enslaved."

"But…They are house-elves. The idea of being freed scares them to their bones." Sasuke noted, recalling Binky.

"Because they were bread to believe they are nothing worth outside of wizarding family." Naruto sounded rather passionate and pissed at the same time "Not to mentioned over 35% abuse their house-elves"

Sasuke swallowed lightly, looking at his plate.

"Terrible.." He said, scratching the back of his head. "I can't recall owning a house-elf. Sooo….."

"Really? The Uchiha's must have had house-elves. They are a very old clan." Karin looked surprised.

"Yeah amnesia. Can't recall.." He said, but he remembered the conversation he had with Binky. Sasuke sometimes saw the house-elf here and there in Hogwarts. She was still a bit frightened of him and Sasuke's can't blame her after everything he had done to her.

Yet Binky was so loyal to Sasuke. She would always wash his laundry first and put it ironed and folded back in his trunk. Not to mention he had caught her once cleaning his bed-sheets. Apparently she did that every day so her master could sleep with the smell of fabric softener which she recalled him being very fond of as a child. She wasn't wrong, but since Sasuke was the one doing the laundry at home now, he did not wash his sheets every day for the mere smell of it.

"We have this discussion every day at home," Karin said. "Now we actually pay them so he will shut up."

"At least I won't submit to your slavery! Dad agrees with me." Naruto said.

"Because you wouldn't stop giving the house-elves socks!" Karin snapped back. "If you care so much about their well-being why don't you do what they want. Instead of forcing them to be free even if they don't want to?"

"You know what, Karin? I didn't expect you to get it anyway. You are too much of a bitch to even care." He grabbed the box and continuous his quest for supporters. Sasuke looked at the button.

"Pff can you believe him? You know two of the house-elves tried to kill themselves when Naruto freed them. They don't even want to be freed. He has no remorse-"

Sasuke got up from the table, shutting Karin immediately up. He didn't say much as he walked towards Naruto and tapped him lightly on the shoulder. Naruto looked irked as he thought Sasuke came to throw the button back in the box.

"I will join." He said.

Naruto was delighted. He showed his bright smile right away.

"First order of business.." Sasuke took his wand and pointed it at the button. The letters started moving on the button. First the letter appeared before spelling out the word it stood for.

"I think students like these better," Sasuke said, pinning it on Naruto's orange, hand- knitted, sweater.

"These look great!" Naruto said excited looking down at the button. "Come, we gotta enchant all of them, dattebayo!" He held Sasuke's hand and pulled the Uchiha with him to the empty study room. He threw the buttons in the box on the table and grabbed one. Sasuke sat down opposite of Naruto.

"Like this…Right?" He pointed his wand, but the button stayed untouched. Naruto looked disappointed for a second. "It is not doing it…"

Sasuke got up from his chair and leaned over the table. He couldn't reach across it so he just climbed on the table before pointing his wand at the button Naruto was holding

"Motus literarum" Sasuke whispered softly. The words moved like they had before over the button.

"But you didn't say anything back in The Great Hall," Naruto looked up from the button to Sasuke, who was still leaning over the table. He put his hand down on the desk to support his weight on.

"But that is because I am saying it in my head" Sasuke said, "How is that confusing?"

"Sasuke, non-verbal spells are very advanced. That is sixth-year shit," Naruto said. His blue, bright eyes were sparkling with excitement and slight admiration.

"Oh…I practiced.." Sasuke felt a bit nervous. He was not used to be get compliments, especially not by somebody like Naruto. Back in the muggle world he used to get bullied by kids like Naruto, and he would beat them up in the playground as revenge.

"You are really great, you know that?" Naruto put both his hands around the edge of the table as he leaned forward. His face closer to Sasuke.

"Well…" Sasuke moved his head a little to the left, "Maybe if you spend less time pranking and messing around. You might actually be quite the good wizard yourself." Sasuke had an arrogant look on his face.

"Maybe.." Naruto said amused, he moved his head a little to the right. Getting a bit closer. Their faces only a few inches apart. "But what fun would that be?" He whispered.

The door of the study room flew open and Sasuke expected to see Tobirama Senju, who usually managed to get on his nerves. However, standing there was Sakura Haruno with Ino Yakamichi and Hinata Hyuuga behind the first two.

Naruto quickly moved away and Sasuke turned his head to the other said, away from Naruto.

"There you are!" Sakura said as she entered the room.

"You promised to help me with the essay on Hippogriffs after dinner and I didn't even see you at your usual spot on the Gryffindor table. I thought you bailed on me, Uzumaki!" Her loud voice echoed in the room and Sasuke sat up straight on the table, looking at the buttons.

"Yeah, yeah, I will! I didn't forget about that, dattebayo!" Naruto's loud voice was joining her now.

"He totally did," Ino said, putting her hand on Sakura's shoulder as she whispered in her ear.

"I should have never let you persuade me into taking that class" Sakura hissed. The roots on her head started turning red.

"No, no…Why don't you just sit here and I will tell you everything I know while Sasuke and I enchant these buttons." Naruto suggested.

Sakura seemed to think for a second, and the red in her hair slowly faded.

"Good!" She said with a happy look on her face. She sat down on the chair next to Naruto.

"Why are you two enchanting buttons?" Ino asked, grabbing one of the enchanted buttons on the table. "Ha, I like how they move!" She said, laughing when the word "Magical" pushed away "Creatures". Hinata looked over Ino's shoulder. She was wearing mustard yellow hoody with the Hufflepuff symbol on the back.

"N-Naruto d-did you..M-make these?" Her face turned red and she nervously played with her fingers.

"Actually Sasuke came up with the idea. He just taught me how to make them move," Naruto said. Hinata's big, doll-like eyes looked over from Naruto to Sasuke before back at Naruto.

"B-but…" She looked back at Sasuke. "S-sa..Sasuke…." She didn't dare to look at him and lowered her eyes to the ground. "Y-Your cause…Was to help…Magical creatures?"

"Yes, it is. I am spreading awareness for the misunderstood trolls, giants, acromantula and House-elves. Especially house-elves." Naruto muttered on about his cause before looking back over at Sasuke. He seemed to glow a little with excitement when mentioning Sasuke was the first to offer to join.

This sudden excitement did not go unnoticed by Hinata. She seemed suddenly very sad when she looked into Naruto's eyes before eyeing Sasuke for less than a second. She suddenly shut her eyes. As if he was facing an ethnic dilemma.

"Sa-Sasuke…Used to abuse house-elves in the Uchiha mansion!" She shouted and opened her eyes and put her hands on the middle of her chest, grabbing the fabric of her sweater.

At that particular moment…Sasuke recalled Hiashi saying his daughter, Hinate , and he used to apparently hang out together all the time as kids, and as Binky reminded him…He was a cruel master and probably didn't mind inviting his so-called play-dates to torture his house-elves.

"What?" Naruto didn't seem to believe what he heard.

At that moment Sasuke figured he should play the amnesia-card…Right now.

"I wouldn't know! I have amnesia!" Sasuke immediately defended himself.

"I won't be surprised if it is true." Ino said casually folding her arms over her chest and shifting her weight to her other leg. "Pure blood, powerful Uchiha clan, it adds up."

"Ino, you can't just assume pure-blooded wizards are immediately cruel. Look at Hinata," Sakura argued. Those words stung Sasuke. Not sure if it was because Hinata was praised or because he was just lowered to the type of person he hated the moment he met Hiashi and Neji.

"Yeah, why should I even believe you? Suddenly you know me better than I do?" Sasuke figured if he undermined Hinata she would drop the topic herself.

"I..I…" She took a deep breath and she suddenly seemed on the verge of tears. Apparently she noted Sasuke annoyance in his tone. "I used to come o-ov..Over when we were chil…Children"

"Oh, alright….I guess in these 5 years where my family got slaughtered and I got abandoned with complete memory loss in the muggle world. It was you who was there for me. My so called…Childhood…Friend…" Sasuke spitted these words with loathe.

Tears finally left the corners of Hinata's eyes and were now rolling over her cheek. She turned away and was heading back to the door, but she suddenly came to a stop and looked over her shoulder. She was frowning.

"You ab-abused Binky, and you know it!" She screamed. "I tried s-stopping you..M-Many times!"

"I don't even know a Binky!" Sasuke shouted in spite.

The room fell quiet and Hinata's expression turned blank. She turned herself now fully around and Sasuke wondered for a moment why everybody was so shocked.

"Master-"

Sasuke grabbed his chest and looked behind him, seeing Binky, his house-elf. Sasuke looked from Binky to Hinata and then Naruto.

"You…You summoned Binky. Binky heard master say her name…Binky is here to serve master." Binky bowed down deeply.

"I have never seen this thing in my life," Sasuke looked at Naruto as he pointed at Binky.

"It is not a thing!" Naruto groaned. "He is clearly your house-elf!"

"So, I might have a house-elf. However, that doesn't make me an abuser directly!" Sasuke hissed, giving Hinata a quick glare. He almost felt set-up by her. "I only recently found out…"

"Proof it." Naruto narrowed his eyes.

"How? I don't have any memories," Sasuke looked away from Naruto's judgemental glare. His lies caught up to him quickly.

"Order Binky to tell us how you threated her. "

Sasuke looked at Binky, at this point he hoped house-elves were able to read minds. However, her big questionable eyes told him he was wasting hope. So, he had to play it smart.

"Binky, would you mind telling this ignorant dumbass over here that I threat your kindly."

"No basterd, how did you threat her? How was she threated?"

Sasuke took a deep breath…Was there any way out? Probably not. He had no idea Naruto would even pay attention to his wording.

"Binky….How did I…Threat you…?" Sasuke voice asked softly, hoping the house-elf got the hint that she had to lie.

However, his plan failed right away.

Binky grabbed her ears and pulled them down, talking to herself about how her master was a good master and a kind master and how she got everything she deserved. This did not start promising at all.

"Tell us, Binky." Naruto spoke kindly to the elf.

"M-master used to push Binky down the stairs…Master used to put Binky on fire because it was amusing!" Binky's large eyes seem to tear up ."Binky deserved it!" She said, hitting her head. "Binky deserved getting thrown plates in her face! Binky deserved the boiling water over her! Binky should know master likes his soup not too salty! Binky knew! Binky is bad. Binky is bad!" She knelt on the floor and hit her head against it.

"ALRIGHT BINKY STOP!" Sasuke screamed. She immediately did as she was demanded, but fearfully crawled away.

"You are scaring her!" Naruto shouted at Sasuke. He stood in front of the cared house-elf, protecting her. "Step away from the house-elf, Sasuke!"

Sasuke opened his mouth to say something…But he had nothing satisfying to say. He decided to pull a Karin and just walk away.

"Yeah you better run!" Ino shouted. "How dare you put house-elves on fire! Think you are a real big deal, don't ya, Uchiha!" She slammed the door shut behind Sasuke.

"This really puts the Promotion of Magical Creatures Welfare and Awareness into perspective," Ino said calmly as she stood in front of the door.

"Master!" Binky called out.

"No, Binky…You don't deserve to be threated the way you have been by Sasuke. Stay, we can help you-" Naruto tried to slowly approach the house-elf, but she vanished.

"Yeah…She loyal…" Ino noted.

"Binky!" Naruto ran down the hall before taking a right corner. He almost slipped on the floor before he quickly managed to hide himself behind the brick wall. He slowly poked his head out, seeing Sasuke Uchiha and Binky. Sasuke still looked very angry as Binky was humbly standing a meter or two behind him.

"Binky is so..So sorry, Master…"

"Stop that!" Sasuke said pissed off before he stopped walking away from the house-elf. He turned around to face him.

"I don't want to owe you! I wanted to free you the moment I knew I had you. But no, you insisted on staying my house-elf!" Sasuke hissed. "None of this would have happened. Nobody had to know if I got rid of you that very moment!"

"No master! No! Please!" Binky begged on her knees. "It is Binky's fault. Binky should have known to lie. Binky was stupid." She started hitting her head on the floor again.

"Stop that!" Sasuke hissed, causing her to stop immediately.

"Apparently your kind is bread to be this loyal…I don't want you…But I don't want you to kill-yourself when you are unwillingly freed." Sasuke tucked his bangs away before sitting down next to the wall. "And it is conflicting me. Should I free you and clear my own conscious while you sulk miserably...Or do what you want and keep you…"

"Please, master.." Binky slowly crawled towards Sasuke. "Since Binky is reunited with her master. Master has been so kind to Binky. So kind to Binky…" She repeated.

"You know…Maybe I am not better than the Hyuugas. They think they can do things because they are pure-bloods and strong…Maybe back then I thought the same…" Sasuke sighed. "I am not better than them. Not even morally."

"Master….Binky wonders…Why does master care so much about master's past?" The house elf sat down next to Sasuke. Sasuke pulled his knees towards him, hugging them.

"Because I don't have any memories..". Sasuke sighed.

"I wonder how life would have been if the Uchihas were still alive. If I had my mother and father…Maybe even brother….I wonder how I would have been. Like…Would I be like Neji? Or like Naruto?" Sasuke leaned his chin on his knees. How would I be if I wasn't raised by Obito…."

"Binky thinks…Master shouldn't be thinking about the 'ifs'…Binky knows master right now is kind and brilliant! Binky is happy to be master's house-elf…Proud!" Binky looked up. Her eyes sparkling.

"You are just saying that because you are scared of me…"

"Binky has been working on that!" Binky said enthusiastic. "Binky's old habits die hard, but Binky is improving!"

Sasuke lifted his chin up.

"Yeah, you are right. Why should I care about how I used to be. I grew up! I certainly don't care what other people even think of me."

"Binky did notice master was looking an awful lot at the blond wizard," The house-elf whispered, looking at the floor.

"Binky….What makes you happy?" Sasuke asked, looking at his house-elf. "Being free and thus being my friend. Or be my house-elf ? Either way, I will take care of you nonetheless." Sasuke turned himself completely around to Binky, sitting in an Indian sit.

"Binky…" Binky stopped looking at the floor and raiser her eyes, "Binky wishes to remain master's house-elf." She said with a smile. "That is what Binky wants."

"Alright, but let's drop the master then…Just call me Sasuke," he said, "I don't live in a mansion anymore, but I do live in a small house in the suburbs. It has the ground floor…No wait…First you have the door." Sasuke grabbed his wands and tapped it on the floor, the bricks raised and formed a small model of the ground floor of his house. He described his house and Obito before telling Binky about the chores he usually had to do, which Binky found horrible for master.

Naruto slowly approached Sasuke.

Sasuke looked up from the floor, hearing Naruto's footsteps get closer.

"Before you say anything…."

Naruto put his hands up in an innocent way.

"I am sorry. I shouldn't have judged you too quickly." He sat down on the floor in front of Sasuke. "I guess I was a bit eager to jump to conclusions. I just know…Mostwizarding family going so far back as the Uchihas do, use house-elves and do mistreat them. I just didn't expect it from you. Or more so...Didn't want to…" Naruto scratched the back of his head.

"I mean…What you did was terrible, like, you sounded like the worst! And you were probably-"

"Losing track, Naruto…" Sasuke whispered, feeling an imaginary brick hit his head by the mention of his horrible deeds.

"You changed. You're different. That is what matters…Besides, if Binky can forgive you…So can I." Naruto said with a smile on his face.

"Were you eves dropping?" Sasuke pointed an accusing finger at Naruto.

"I was standing around the corner! You talk too loud!" Naruto said loudly.

"Well in that case…Promoting Magical Creature Awareness doesn't mean to do things against their will. You gotta do what makes them happy," Sasuke nudged his head to his house-elf

"Don't lecture me over my own campaign! Dattebayo!" Naruto laughed. "Fair enough…I can't force Binky to be free if that isn't what she wants. She wants to be your house-elf…So…At least I can make sure she won't get mistreated."

"Promoting awareness." Sasuke tapped the button on Naruto's chest with his wand. Naruto laughed, he grabbed a button from his pocket and leaned in to pin it on Sasuke's shirt.

"There…Promoting awareness…" Naruto looked up. His face once again inches away from Sasuke's.

There was a silence emerged between them. Naruto's face slightly leaned to the right, his lips slightly parting away. Sasuke looked up from Naruto's lips to his eyes. His head was feeling warm and a light sensation took over his chest and stomach. He could feel the warmth of Naruto's lips almost on his own.

Naruto suddenly pulled back and stood up. He ruffled up Sasuke's hair.

"Wow, it is getting late. I gotta help Sakura!" He said anxiously before walking down the hall.

It started with walking, it quickly turned into running.

Sasuke swallowed, feeling an almost dark like sensation shower over him as his eyes were still fixated on the corner he saw Naruto disappear behind. His heart was beating loudly in his chest. He finally looked away from the corner and got up.

"I..I have to do homework!" Sasuke announced as he ran to the opposite direction, towards the Slytherin dungeons, leaving Binky behind.


	10. Chapter 10

Sasuke was staring at the dark ceiling in the third year's dormitory. He had his hands behind his head and took a deep breath through his nose. The only sounds in the dormitory was the lapping of the water in the loch and Suigetsu's loud snoring. Sasuke couldn't bring himself to fall asleep, he felt too bothered by the recent event that had played out during the day. However, first and far most, he couldn't get the thought of Naruto's face so close near his own out of his head. It felt like the moron was going to kiss him. Sasuke had never kissed anybody before in his life; not a girl let along a boy. Yet, his body didn't pull away from Naruto, in fact…It reacted to him. Like a bumblebee attracted to a flower, Sasuke was being drawn towards Naruto. He wanted to kiss him. He wanted Naruto to kiss him. His heart had skipped faster dan Electronic Dance Music and his body starting feeling warm while there was this light, tingling, feeling in his stomach. But, Naruto ended up just ruffling his up his hair …All Sasuke could feel was shame and doubt.

Did he read the signs right? Was Naruto actually trying to kiss him? Was he absolutely sure he was? Perhaps it could have been something else?

Sasuke pulled the thick white and green blankets off him and sat up, shaking his head forcefully to push the thoughts away. He swallowed loudly and moved his fingers over his lips, thinking about Naruto's lips. He started to feel embarrassed again. Naruto backed away so quickly and practically ran away. Did he make a fool out of himself? Did he manage to make the most social and outgoing student in Hogwarts feel awkward? Sasuke hugged his knees, pulling the blankets now completely off him. He tried to recall the situation that happened earlier today, step by step.

There was Naruto and him, sitting down in the hallway; Binky had been there too. Sasuke's back was against the brick wall while Naruto sat in front of him. Naruto buttoned the self-made button on Sasuke's shirt. They both looked up and stared in each other's eyes. Naruto's face slightly leaned to the right, his lips slightly parting away. His face moved forwards, it was so close to Sasuke's . Sasuke looked up from Naruto's lips to his eyes. He could feel the warmth of Naruto's lips almost on his own. Then the Gryffindor boy suddenly stood up, ruffled up the Uchiha's hair before running off.

Sasuke hid his face behind his hands. That moron ruffled up his hair like he was some little kid. His face was flushing red by the embarrassing thought and slight frustration he felt towards Naruto Uzumaki. He wondered if the Gryffindor boy was now sound asleep while he couldn't even get his head to take a break from thinking about that moment. He groaned, pulling his hair slightly, out of frustration.

He picked up his wand, that was lying next to him. He whispered a spell, causing the tip of the wand to lighting up and allow Sasuke to see his surroundings. He pulled the curtains away from his canopy bed before stepping out of it. He opened the thick green ones from Suigetsu, who was sleeping in the bed next to Sasuke's.

He immediately woke his friend up with the light of his wand, but before he could scream, Sasuke covered his mouth with his hand. He climbed in his bed and shut the draped, sitting in an Indian sit on Suigetu's foot end.

"I think Naruto Uzumaki almost kissed me in the hallway," Sasuke whispered.

Suigetsu moved his hand over his eyes, rubbing them slightly before looking back at Sasuke.

"I'm sorry, it sounded like you said Naruto Uzumaki tried to kiss you."

Suigetsui had a little smile on his face, he thought what he had made out of Sasuke's words was funny and most likely completely untrue. Sasuke's expression didn't change and he looked at Suigetsu with the same intense expression.

"…You are joking, right?" Suigetsu whispered, waiting for some sort of confirmation that never came. "That is Karin's cousin?!"

Sasuke covered Suigetsu's mouth with his hand, indicating for him to be quiet.

"I said almost…" Sasuke murmured, crawling next to Suigetsu.

"I am not sure…It was weird. He ended up petting my head and running away." Sasuke didn't look at Suigetsu as his eyes were fixated on the green cover on top the blanket.

"Why are you coming to me with this? I haven't even snogged a girl, let alone a guy!"

Sasuke remained quiet.

"Because my parents are gay, isn't it?" Suigetsu seemed to have read his mind. "Yeah so? That doesn't make me an expert on gay stuff. Frankly, I find that to be very narrow minded from a wizard living in the muggle world."

"Come on…" Sasuke sighed. He ran his hand through his hair, shoving his bangs out of his face.

"Fine….What happened between you two…" He exhaled deeply, feeling defeated.

Sasuke started explaining how they went to the study hall and how enchanted Naruto's buttons. How he had sat down on the table and leaned in. How Naruto seemed pretty amused when their faces were only inches apart before some other students walked in. How later at the hallway a similar thing happened, only this time he could legit see Naruto's lip part. How close their lips had gotten before Naruto jumped up and ran off.

"He ruffled up your hair?" Suigetsu asked, squinting his eyes as he looked into the debts of the night. "What the hell…?"

"Right!" Sasuke hissed. "He totally freaked out, didn't he?"

"Maybe he…Maybe he doesn't swing that way?" Suigetsu pulled his shoulders up in a not knowing way, "Maybe he made a bet with Kiba but got too scared to follow through?"

He said his last theory with so much passion, it bumped Sasuke out completely.

"He doesn't seem like that type of person…" Sasuke whispered.

"Maybe he wants Karin to get super angry" Suigetsu tapped his index finger on his chin, thinking deeply.

"Why would he want that? Besides he mentioned he was happy Karin finally had some people to hang out with."

"Sasuke, I don't know what to tell you. Although…I did think it was weird when he wrapped that arm around us after duelling club….I barley know that guy. It felt like he just wanted to seem casual wrapping his arm around you maybe? I mean now that you mention you think he tried to almost kiss you twice today?"

"What if he didn't. What if it was something else?" Sasuke looked down the fluffy green cover, stroking it so all the tiny hairs were pointed at one direction. Suigetsu stared at his friend wondering why he seemed to be so bothered by the entire situation. He figured Sasuke should feel honoured having girls and apparently boys queuing up to snog him. However, after a few seconds an imaginary light-bulb appeared above Suigetsu's white hair and turned on.

"Sasuke Uchiha, do you fancy Karin's cousin?" Suigetsu blurred out.

"No!" Sasuke hissed back almost immediately.

A silence emerged between them, but didn't last too long as Suigetsu broke it.

"Then why do you care?"

"I don't know! Forget it!" Sasuke hissed, throwing the pillow behind him in Suigetsu's face before crawling out of his bed and back into his own. He stepped back out and got up, pulling Suigetu's curtains once again.

"I will curse you if you even mention what happened to Karin."

Sasuke glared at him, his wand still in his hand, lighting everything between him and Suigetsu.

"Whatever, bro" Suigetsu turned his back at Sasuke as he went back to sleep. Sasuke closed the curtains again before going back to his own bed. He laid back down, and stared at the dark ceiling once again.

Suigetsu was no help at all.

The next morning was almost gruesome. Sasuke felt like a complete mess. He couldn't recall sleeping at all that night and he felt his eye lids being heavier than ever. They almost fell shut for the second time on the breakfast table. He leaned his chin on the palm of his hand, closing his eyes. He could feel himself drift off to a dreamless sleep, but he could hear a snapping sound of fingers causing his eyes to widen right away.

"Are you alright?" Karin asked who just sat down in front of him and Suigetsu.

"Totally…" Sasuke put his thumb up in a casual way. "Pass the coffee…" He demanded, receiving it right away from the second year girl sitting next to Karin. Sasuke opened the lid from the coffee can and just started to chuck it down. Karin looked in a disapproving way while Suigetsu looked rather impressed and started to push his fist in the air while chanting "Chuck. Chuck. Chuck. Chuck!"

Sasuke put the can down, whipping his mouth with his sleeve.

"Totally fine!" He said, high fiving Suigetsu and also the blond kid next to Karin.

"Disgusting…" Karin rolled her eyes and put some scrambled eggs on her plate. She took a bite, taking her time chewing before indicating she wasn't done talking. She put her elbow on the table and looked Sasuke dead in the eye.

"Also, that was caffeine free coffee." She spoke with a satisfied grin on her face.

"Ugh…What is the point of coffee even!" Sasuke hissed rather disgusted and pushed the now empty can away from him. Karin didn't seem to care as she was focussed on eating her breakfast. Sasuke sighed, losing his appetite. He looked around the Great Hall and for a mere second his heart stopped beating when he saw Naruto and Kiba walk towards the Gryffindor table. Naruto looked a little worried if not sad. Kiba was saying something rather passionately as he seemed a bit angry. Neither one of them even eyed the Slytherin table when they sat down. Shikamaru lips started moving, but Sasuke couldn't hear what he had to say. Shikamaru turned in his seat and made direct eye contact with Sasuke.

Sasuke felt like he was put in a tight spot and had no idea what the acceptable way of behaviour was. Just keep staring…Look away? Kill yourself with the butter-knife?

Shikamaru finally turned back to the Naruto and Kiba, but he pointed with his thumb at the Slytherin table, specifically at Sasuke, Suigetu and Karin. At this particular moment, he wished Itachi Uchiha had killed him with his parents so he did not have to deal problems like these.

He looked down at his empty plate before excusing himself off the table. He headed to the Slytherin Dungeons to grab a so called forgotten book, but he actually wanted to lay down for about thirty minutes before heading to D.A.D.A. Right when he was about to walk around the corner and bumped right into Haku Yuki. Both of them falling on the grounds.

"I'm sorry" Haku said.

"Look out" Sasuke hissed.

Both Sasuke and Haku looked up and a Haku gave Sasuke an apologetic smile. Not so much for bumping against him, more for not recognising him right away. Sasuke got up from the ground, dusting himself off before offering Haku a hand.

"I didn't see you there…" Haku spoke, accepting Sasuke's and allowing the Slytherin boy to pull him up. "It is a very unfortunate corner. One doesn't really see what is on the other side."

"Yeah, whatever" Sasuke rolled his eyes at Haku's words and wanted to continue his way to the dungeons, but was stopped by Haku grabbing the boy by his wrist.

"Is something bugging you, dear?" He asked. He used his free hand to tuck his straight, beautiful hair behind his ear. Sasuke wished his hair would be more like Haku's. His was standing up from the back and even he had to admit when he brushed it, it still looked messy.

"Yeah, don't call me 'dear'."

"Really? That is it?" Haku let go of Sasuke's wrist and just gave a small nod and took a maximum of two steps before Sasuke called out for him to stop. Haku smiled, his hands on his back as he turned his head over his shoulder. For a Hufflepuff he knew how to play people.

"There might be something bugging me…" Sasuke admitted in defeat.

They headed to the boy's bathroom and hid inside of one of the stalls. Sasuke quickly examined if the bathroom was empty and to his relieve it was. He closed the stall behind him and looked at Haku who had lowered the toilet seat and sat on it like it was a chair.

"Something bad?" He raised a questionable eyebrow from all the security measure to have a simple conversation.

"I think…Naruto tried to kiss me?" Sasuke said, a bit unsure. Haku's dark brown eyes widened for less than a second before looking back in his neutral way.

"I did always get a vibe from him that he wasn't a 100% straight," Haku folded his legs. "It actually doesn't sound very surprising to me, now that you mention it."

"You think?" Sasuke looked a little hopeful, even though he didn't mean to seem that way. Haku chuckled.

"I have known Naruto for four years now. I noticed him looking over at the Slytherin table, but I always thought he kept an eye out for his cousin-"

"That doesn't say much at all!" Sasuke hissed annoyed.

"Well, I am not a love-expert."

"You should be! You have Zabuza, if you are capable of making a guy like him fall for you, then you are pretty much a love expert."

Haku knitted his eyebrows.

"That makes a Zabubza expert now, doesn't it?" He said, still sounding calm.

"Not my point!" Sasuke hissed in defeat. He started to feel if a guy like Haku couldn't help him. Nobody could.

"Sasuke, if you fancy Naruto. I think you should speak up and tell him how you feel. He is a very kind and honest men. If he returns the feelings, great for you. If he doesn't…Well, he doesn't strike me as the type to be freaked out by it and break your friendship over it."

"Pff..Stupid." Sasuke folded his arms and leaned against the stall door. "Who the hell tells somebody they fancy them. Be real, wait for your deathbed and confess your feeling then and die before they are capable of rejecting you."

Haku remained quiet and slowly shook his head.

"If you aren't ready to tell him…That is fine too," he sighed and got up. "I am actually hungry, Sasuke. I would like to have some breakfast now." He put his hand on the Uchiha's shoulder before opening the stall door and walking out.

"W-wait!"Sasuke looked over his shoulder at Haku, "When did you figure out you actually…Liked…Zabubza?"

Haku chuckled.

"The moment he kissed me in the library last year."

With those words, Haku headed for the Great Hall and left Sasuke behind in the bathroom. For a moment Sasuke considered maybe he should be the one to kiss Naruto, but he rejected the idea almost immediately.

The first lesson of the day was about the start and Sasuke just made it in time. He rushed to his usual seat next to Suigetsu and in front of Karin.

"You got what you needed?" Karin asked him a bit suspicious.

"Yeah, I got my potions book."

"Hmm…You said it was D.A.D.A you were getting…" Karin narrowed her eyes suspiciously, but Sasuke shook it off.

"Hey, Naruto was looking for you in the Great Hall. He didn't seem too happy." Suigetsu said.

"…Wasn't he…" Sasuke wasn't sure how to respond.

"My stupid cousin probably got himself in some trouble again and wants us to help him clean it up." Karin rolled her eyes. "He asked if we could meet him at the seventh floor after our last lesson."

"Are we sure he isn't just going to prank us?" Suigetu asked, looking over his shoulder at Karin.

"If he does, aunty Kushina will beat the shit out of him. He is no longer allowed to prank me!" Karin said behind gritted teeth. "Last summer he transfigured my pillow in a giant spider in the middle of the night. I screamed my lungs out and it jumped in my mouth."

Both Suigetsu and Sasuke shared a look of disgust.

"Uncle Minato was very hard on him. He deserved that." Karin folded her arms and sat back in her table. Kakashi entered the classroom, five minutes too late, but that was normal for him. He moved his wand and all the tables flew to the side. The students got up from their chairs that then followed the desks towards the edges of the classroom.

"Practical lesson," Kakashi said. "One might say a small test to see how good you guys have been doing your individual reading." He turned around ones he reached a locker closet. He knocked on it and something inside it starting banging loudly, even make the closet move.

"What could possibly be in here? Anybody had any idea?" Kakashi asked.

"Assuming it is in the closet…Your gayness?" A Gryffindor boy whispered to his friends, getting a few chuckles from his friends. Sasuke looked at them; if eyes could kill…The boy's body would have been the thing hidden inside that very closet now. He didn't know what made him so angry at these gay jokes. He didn't particularly care about Kakashi Hatake…Or…Did he now?

"Karin, enlighten us," Kakashi spoke.

"A Boggart, professor Hatake," Karin spoke. Kakashi nodded satisfied by her answer.

"Take ten points for Slytherin for your excellent observation, Ms Uzumaki" He said.

"Now can anybody tell me what a Boggart looks like."

Sasuke raised his hand in the air and yet again Kakashi looked pleased. He gave Sasuke a small nod.

"A boggart is an amortal shape-shifting non-being that takes on the form of the viewer's worst fear. Because of their shape-shifting ability, no one knows what a boggart looks like when it is alone, as it instantly changes into one's worst fears when one first sees it."

"Very well, Mr Uchiha." He looked at the other students in his class. Some of the Gryffindor boys looked at the floor, muttering among themselves but Kakashi couldn't hear what they were saying.

"And what do you do when you face a Boggart?" He asked, looking at the other students in the class. Nobody seem to raise their hands.

"The charm that combats a boggart is Riddikulus. The charm requires a strong mind and good concentration. The incantation and wand movement alone will not affect a boggart. The spell can be tricky, because it involves making the creature into a figure of fun, so that fear can be dispelled in amusement. If the caster is able to laugh aloud at the boggart, it will disappear at once. The intention is to force the boggart to assume a less-threatening and hopefully comical form" Sasuke answered.

"Fantastic, Sasuke." Kakashi said. "There is a second method too. Do you happen to know that one?" Kakashi asked.

Sasuke remained quiet for a second.

"Well…I guess a boggart can only look like one person's biggest fear and not more. So…Having more than one people confronting a Boggart could confuse it?" Sasuke guessed.

Kakashi smiled and nodded.

"Another ten points to Slytherin." He said. He indicated for his students to make a line and so they did. The first and by far the one who wanted to run outside of the classroom the most was Hinata Hyuuga. Kakashi grabbed her by her shoulder before she could try going to the back of the class.

"Ms Hyuuga," Kakashi spoke. Her face turned red and her body started slowly trembling.

"P-professor..I..I don't think…I could…I don't.." She put her hands in front of her face.

"That is alright, Hinata. We are all afraid. Facing our fears is the hardest thing each of us will have to do. If we don't…We will never overcome them. So, tell me Ms Hyuuga. What do you fear most?" Kakashi asked.

Hinata lowered her hands and held her wand with both hands now.

"I…I'm…Afraid of… S-Snakes." She shut her eyes in embarrassment.

"Oh yeah, they can be nasty animals," Kakashi said.

"He is the head of Slytherin…" Sasuke whispered to Suigetsu who just shook his head.

"Now…Imagine a snake…a snake…With a funny hat? Perhaps your grandmother's clothes on? Or tied in a big knot!" Kakashi said, seeing Hinata chuckle.

"Do you remember the spell, Ms Hyuuga?"

"Yes…Reddikulus," she said reassured.

"Good pronunciation. Now, I will release the Boggart and it will probably turn into a snake. You think of a snake wearing a…Funny hat. Don't be too scared; I will be right here when you panic." Kakashi spoke. Hinata nodded, trusting the professor completely. Kakashi walked towards the closet looked over his shoulder at Hinata.

"Now, grab your wand, be alert." He said and counted down from three before releasing the boggart. Just as expected it turned into a big snake with huge fangs. Hinata trembled when she looked at it, but she didn't run away or cry. She pointed her wand at the snake.

"R..R..Red-dikulus…Reddikulus!" She shouted. The snake suddenly wore a big flower hat, making it look like the centre of a sunflower. Hinata laughed as did other people standing behind her.

"Very well, Ms Hyuuga. Take ten points for Hufflepuff. Now the next one!" Kakashi said. The boggart changed a couple of times. Turning into big spiders, clowns, Jason from Friday the 13th and one time it turned into Freddy Krueger…Which Sasuke did enjoy seeing on the list of fears.

It was Sasuke's turn next and he thought of some scary things he had seen in the muggle word. Most of them came from horror movies he secretly watched even though Obito told him not to. The Boggart shape-shifted from a Sea Serpent wearing a ballerina outfit to a sudden dark void. A dead body suddenly lied on the floor. The body of a man with short dark grey hair. It then turned into a woman that strongly resembled Sasuke. She had beautiful raven hair and wore fancy dark blue dress while wearing a silver head chain with diamond pieces in it. The bodies shifted between the two.

Sasuke froze on the spot, looking at the lifeless bodies on the floor. He lowered his wand, dropping it on the floor. He felt terrible; He felt scared. Tears were welling up in his eyes and all he could do was stare blankly at the bodies of the two people he recognised from the mirror of Erised as his parents. The parents he never knew and yet his body was reacting like they meant his whole life. Even though he had no memory of them whatsoever. He fell down on his knees. He couldn't hear anything. There was a faint voice in his head of a woman calling his name. It repeated over and over again.

"Sasuke, snap out of it!" Kakashi suddenly appeared in front of him, covering Sasuke from the Boggart. The Boggart suddenly shifted into a different shape again and now everybody gasped by the sight of a man, resembling an older Kakashi, hanging from a rope. Kakashi grabbed his wand and said 'Ridikulus' it turned into a balloon flying across the classroom and falling inside of the closet again that closed itself again and then locked.

A silence emerged in the classroom and everybody was staring at the Uchiha.

"Sasuke…" Karin knelt next to him, her hand on his shoulder. Sasuke didn't move he was staring at the spot where the bodies just were.

"Sasuke…." She repeated in an even softer voice.

Sasuke finally reacted to her, he turned his head towards Karin and she could now clearly see the big tears sliding down his cheeks.

"Uchiha is crying"

"Protégé my ass."

"Can't even defeat a Boggart"

"Ey, shut up!" Suigetsu shouted at some of the student. "I will fucking jinx you if you speak one more word!"

Sasuke moved his hand to his face, feeling the wetness on his cheeks. He looked at his hand before turning his head to Kakashi.

"It is alright. You are alright…" Kakashi tried to comfort him. Sasuke looked at the closet and suddenly it all came back to him. The boggart. The lesson. The spell.

"Why don't you two escort him to Lady Shizune." Kakashi said, helping Sasuke up from the floor. His legs still didn't seem to work with him. Suigetsu grabbed Sasuke's arm and wrapped it around him as he supported him outside of the classroom.

They both remained quiet on the way to the infirmary. Lady Shizune was quite surprised by Sasuke's visitation, but didn't question it after having talked to Karin. She had a pitiful expression in her eyes as she gave the boy some Pumpkin juice in hope to get some colour back in his cheek.

"Are you…Alright?" Suigetsu asked after an awkward silence that lasted far too long.

"No…No I am not…" Sasuke whispered. His hands were still trembling. "I don't know what happened there."

"It is alright, Sasuke. There is nothing to be ashamed of. These things happen-"

"I wasn't until now…" Sasuke looked at Karin with a concerned look. "How bad was I there?"

"Well…It sort of looked like you were affected by a dementor's kiss," Suigetsu said honestly, getting a punch in the arm from Karin.

"That is…Bad…" Sasuke said, putting his glass down with shaking hands.

"It was not!" She said determined, "Everybody would have been like that if they had gone through what you had been put through. To be so cruelly reminded of it… Of course it would trigger something"

"Karin….I have amnesia. I don't remember anything about my parents...About the Uchihas or my childhood." Sasuke admitted, "My body just…Just reacted on its own and all I could hear…Was this woman calling my name...Over and over again."

"Karin did call out a few times when you were in your trance" Suigetsu said. Sasuke looked down on the bed.

"It wasn't Karin…It was a whole other voice."

"Maybe…You heard your mother's voice?" Karin questioned.

Shizune pulled the white curtain away that gave the three some privacy.

" I don't see a reason why you two should miss out on your potion lesson. Now go. Taking care of students is my job." Shizune said guiding the two out of the infirmary before walking back to Sasuke's bed side.

"How are you feeling, dear?" She put the back of her hand on Sasuke's forehead. Sasuke just slowly nodded. "Why don't you take your rest a bit longer and return to the lessons after lunch." Shizune suggested.

"I don't mind missing potions…" Sasuke agreed with her before lying his head on the pillow. Maybe a nap would do him a bit better.

Lunch was about to start and Sasuke saw his friends already sit there. He walked towards them, seeing a few people look at him and whisper. He decided to ignore it and sit down. He was feeling quite hungry by now and all he wanted was to eat.

"How are you feeling?" Karin asked.

"I am feeling a lot better," Sasuke said, filling his plate with a bit of everything he could get his hands on.

"How was potions? Did I miss a lot?" Suigetsu suddenly straightened his back and filled his mouth with food. That could only mean he was hiding something.

"Well…The news about what happened during D.A.D.A sort of…Spread around the entire school."

Sasuke shook his head.

"How bad is it. You said it yourself…Most people would-"

"I know what I said. I stand by it!" Karin immediately defended herself.

"However," she took a deep breath, "rumours…They tend to drift away from the original story."

"I am going to ask one more time…How…Bad?"

"They say you peed your pants during D.A.D.A and your boggart took the shake of…A female version of you?" Suigetsu finally answered.

"That wasn't a female version of me!" Sasuke hissed, "that was my mother."

"You take strongly after her." Suigetsu tried to change the topic.

"I heard that before."

Karin and Suigetsu shared a quick look before looking back at Sasuke.

"Yeah some guy in a mask said I looked just like my mot-" Sasuke stopped talking before he realised that person was just a figment of his subconscious as he had been dreaming. "Nevermind."

"Tobirama did ask about you," Suigetsu said. "He seemed to genuine when he said he hoped you would feel better soon."

"He did?" Sasuke asked surprised.

"He might have not worded it that way…But he did mean it !"Suigetsu tried to cheer him up. Sasuke sighed, suddenly his appetite was gone again. He pushed his plate away and his hid face in his hands. This day couldn't get worse.

But he was wrong.

"Oi, Uchiha!" Kiba walked past the Slytherin table and was now standing behind Karin. "Heard you peed your pants. Ha! Didn't your diaper contained the pee?"

Sasuke glared up at the Gryffindor Beater.

"You seem to know an awful lot about diapers. Speaking of experience I see, Dog Breath," Karin looked over her shoulder at him and Kiba gritted his teeth, wanting to say something back at her, but stopped himself.

"You're lucky your cousin is my best friend or I would have told you right in your face-"

"What?" Karin got up, putting one hand on her hip as she looked over her glasses at him. "Call me a what?" She leaned in, causing Kiba to back off.

"Tch."

Naruto walked in the great hall and immediately made eye contact with his best friend. He waved and Kiba proceeded to ignore the Slytherins and wave back at his friend.

"Hey," Kiba gave Naruto a box before Naruto turned his head to the Slytherin table.

"Sasuke, how are you doing?" Naruto asked, noting Sasuke's pale face. He proceeded to sit down next to his cousin on the currently, almost, empty table.

Sasuke didn't answer as he looked down at the table again.

"It depends on what you have heard so far" Suigetsu said, he put his hand on Sasuke's shoulder, but Sasuke pulled away. "I'm going to take some fresh air."

"Right behind you." Suigetsu said as Sasuke already walked away from the great hall, leaving his two friends behind.

"He doesn't seem to do so well. Did something happen?" Naruto asked Karin, leaning his arm on her shoulder.

"Yeah, Sasuke, from the powerful Uchiha clan, Hogwart's Protégé . Peed himself when encountering a boggart. A boggart!" Kiba laughed, sitting on Karin's other side. He regretted it right away when Karin pushed her elbow right in his ribs. Kiba hissed and gave Naruto a warning look which Naruto ignored.

"That is not what happened!" Suigetsu shouted.

"Sasuke's boggart turned into the dead bodies of his parents and…He wasn't prepared for such confrontation. He sort of got into a state of shock and was then send to Lady Shizune by professor Hatake." Karin informed her cousin. "I think he still feels a bit shocked."

Kiba suddenly remained quiet and looked away. He suddenly felt like a jerk now that he knew the true story.

"Now I feel terrible…" Kiba said.

"You should." Suigetsu glared at him from across the table.

"That is horrible…" Naruto sighed, looking at the door of the great hall.

Sasuke was heading towards the lake. Right when he was about to walk outside of the castle he felt somebody grabbing his shoulder gently. He immediately turned around and was about to grab his wand and attack if he hadn't recognised his D.A.D.A teacher right away.

"A word, Mr Uchiha." He tried to give Sasuke a kind smile, but it felt a bit creepy instead. Sasuke didn't argue when he followed his teacher to his classroom. Kakashi walked to his desk and opened one of the drawers. He grabbed a biscuit tin and put it on his desk.

"Would you like some tea?" Kakashi asked.

"I am not setting you up with Obito," Sasuke immediately said. Kakashi laughed. Only Sasuke couldn't tell if he was just casually laughing or if it was one of those evil ones that said that the topic would come back.

"Not my current intentions," Kakashi said. A tea pot flew in from behind him with two little cups that were all matching. Porcelain with a dog on it. When the cups were filled with it placed itself in front of Sasuke.

"Why?" Sasuke asked, he looked sceptically at the tea before taking it. It felt rude to just let it stand there. He could already hear Obito's nagging in his ears for occasionally doing so when they visited their neighbour that was almost a hundred year and not looking so young as the Senjus did.

"I wanted to talk to you about what happened today." Kakashi expression turned serious. Sasuke looked down at his cup of tea, he now noticed the dogs on the cups moved.

"I don't know why I lost it out there…" Sasuke whispered. He remembered the boggart taking the dead form of his parents. Suddenly he remembered how Kakashi covered him from the boggart when he realised Sasuke wasn't going to be able to cast the charm.

He looked up at Kakashi.

"…Your boggart?" Sasuke whispered remembering the old man that was hanging from a rope. Kakashi didn't say anything as he put some sugar in his tea…Or better said, put tea in his sugar.

"My father," Kakashi finally answered, "He had taken his own life when I was six years old."

Sasuke lowered his eyes again. He had no idea how to react to something as horrible as that.

"That…Must have been awful, professor" he finally spoke. He could only imagine a six years old walking in his father's room and seeing his lifeless body hang there. How much it must have damaged the man in front of him.

"I have resented him for it, but I learned to make my peace with it," Kakashi said.

Suddenly the reason behind this conversation became clear for Sasuke. He met the dark eyes of his professor.

"A boggart takes the shape of one's greatest fear. But…If I don't remember it…Then why does it affect me? Why did he take that shape? How could I ever learn to make my peace with it?" Sasuke was eagerly asking question, expecting the man in front of him to know every answer, but he silence made Sasuke lose hope.

"You know before I became a teacher, I was an auror. Before I became an auror I…Dropped out of Hogwarts and travelled the world."

Sasuke's was surprised by hearing this. He didn't pick his Defence Against the Dark Arts professor for somebody who dropped out of school.

" I was always very good at Defence Against the Dark Arts and I got my money from doing some freelancing work around old wizarding villages. Getting rid of dark creatures. It is then when I realised that everything I have been taught by books and only books were wrong. Boggarts are no exception. I don't think we truly understand them, not till this day."

"I get it…" Sasuke said, not sure what else to say.

"But I have learned to understand some of the dark creatures we must understand the type of person they attack."

"Blame it on the victim." Sasuke sat back in his chair, some of his tea spilling on his pants, but he didn't seem to care too much. It had gotten cold anyway.

"Not what I am saying." Kakashi gave him a small smile, "I am saying that perhaps…You remember more than you think? Maybe your greatest fear is to remember the memories of the massacre? "

"I don't know!?" Sasuke hissed. "I woke up in a hospital with amnesia. That is all I know about the oh-so-great Uchiha clan."

Sasuke put the cup down and folded his arms.

"Besides I was pretty sure I was afraid of Chucky. I was nine, Obito told me not to watch it. I didn't listen…And I had nightmares for months." Sasuke said.

"What is a Chucky?" Kakashi frowned.

"Worst thing in the world!" Sasuke hissed. A silence fell between them. Although uncomfortable for Sasuke..Kakashi just seem to enjoy his biscuit quite well.

"Maybe I am glad I don't remember anything. I just know living with Obito is something that made me feel generally safe and happy. If those memories would ever return…I doubt I be the same." Sasuke thought of Binky and the horrible things he had done to her as a child of the Uchiha clan.

"It could have been fate?" Sasuke sighed. He finished his cup of tea.

"Would you like to try it…Again?" Kakashi pointed at the closet the boggart was in.

Sasuke looked at the closet. There was nobody to watch him if he redeemed himself by casting the perfect charm. There was a big chance the same thing would happen again and he would be back in lady Shizune's care. But somehow…Kakashi's speech of acceptance popped in his head. The old teacher had really his way of leaving an impact.

"Yes…" Sasuke sighed, getting up from the chair and grabbing his wand.

"I will be right here if you panic" Kakashi said as he approached the closet. Sasuke walking in front of it.

"I know…" Sasuke had a small smile on his face. He held his wand up and closed his eyes.

"Breath in….And out…Focus.."

Kakashi opened the closet and the boggart headed straight for Sasuke, just like before it turned into the body of his mother before turning in to his father's.

Sasuke grabbed his wand tightly.

"Focus…Focus…Focus.."

"Ridikulus!"

The boggart turned into one of the Kakashi's dog mugs.

Sasuke chuckled and the boggart returned to the closet which Kakashi closed. He looked at Sasuke. The Uchiha expected some sort of smile or perhaps even a compliment. But he didn't get any.

"So you don't like my mugs? You didn't need to hurt my feelings with it!" Kakashi seemed pretty upset.

Sasuke looked cluelessly at him. Did he expect people to genuinely appreciate his mugs? He thought he had bought them precisely because they were lame.

"Get out!" Kakashi pointed at the door. Sasuke bolted the moment he got the change. He ran out of the classroom and down the hall. He bumped into somebody and almost felt backwards if that person hadn't quickly grabbed him by his arm.

"Sasuke, we were all looking for you!" Naruto seemed concerned. He could see Sasuke smiling as he looked over his shoulder.

"I turned a boggart into Kakashi's porcelain tea cup, the one with the moving dogs, and he took great offense in it. He got so mad he basically screamed at me to get out!" Sasuke laughed, causing Naruto to laugh too.

"You never say anything about professor Hatake's cups and tea pot. He is really sensitive about that, dattebayo!" Naruto laughed. He was glad to see Sasuke had finally gotten some colour back in his face and seeing him laugh like he did at the moment. Naruto just knew whatever issues he had before were gone.

"Oi, you found him!" Kiba ran towards their direction and raised an eyebrow when seeing Naruto holding Sasuke's arm.

Naruto immediately let go, pulling his arm back like he had gotten burned.

"Right..Uhm..Kiba has something to say to you" Naruto said, giving his friend an encouraging nod. Kiba swallowed.

"Uhm..Sorry..About…Before. I shouldn't have…" Kiba said, not even looking at Sasuke when he said it. Those words tasted bitter.

"Good boy," Naruto joked, patting Kiba on the head like he was some sort of dog.

"Cut it out!" Kiba barked at him. "Come we are going to be late for transfiguration."

Naruto sighed before looking at Sasuke.

"See you, Sasuke" He said, he was waving eagerly as he got pulled away by Kiba.


	11. Chapter 11

Sasuke Uchiha was running up the steep stairs of the second floor. He was wearing his green quidditch robes and holding his broom in one hand. His hair was slightly wet from the rainy outdoors but it didn't stop it from standing up in the back. His bangs were stuck on his forehead, blocking his view slightly. The stair suddenly move, Sasuke quickly ran past Professor Kurenai and jumped to the platform, landing on it safely.

"No running in the hall, boy!" Kurenai shouted, looking a little goofy as usual.

"Sorry professor!" Sasuke shouted, running up the next flights of stairs. He finally reached the seventh floor, his destination. He was panting heavily, leaning his weight on the broomstick. He had quidditch practice after dinner. He was supposed to go to the seventh floor after his last lessons but after the messy day he had had; he had almost completely forgotten. Weirdly enough he saw Shikamaru earlier today in the hallway, and even though the two had a mutual understanding of 100% ignoring one another when crossing paths. Shikamaru had broken that by approaching Sasuke and asking him if he would still be able to come. He didn't specify what it was, but Sasuke didn't ask him either. He had remembered Suigetsu mentioning something about the seventh floor earlier that day so whatever it was, it must have been important for them to actually involve the Slytherin Trio in it.

Sasuke looked down the hall but didn't see a single soul there. He walked around, still breathing a bit heavily when he looked around. For a moment he thought the Gryffindor boys might try to prank him. He looked at the roof before looking outside the window. There was no sign of any traps.

"Suigetsu!" Sasuke called out, hearing his own voice echo. He looked the other way again. Still nobody. He swiped his bangs out of his face, he felt sweaty and cold. Right now all he wanted was to get a warm bath and to wear his warm blue sweater. He looked at the broomstick in his hand: A nimbus 2001. He had purchased it in his second year from the money in his wizarding bank. It wasn't hard for him to convince Obito to get the broomstick with the current inherited money they owned. That combined with Obito being very clueless when it came to the value of a Galleon. Sasuke took great advantage of this when he visited the Broomstix. Somehow, Shikamaru had asked him to bring it. The reason for that was also unknown.

Sasuke heard a strange sound coming from behind him. He turned his head away from the window and looked over his shoulder at the bricked wall. His eyes widened seeing a door appear out of nowhere. The door was big and made from a light shaded wood, decorated heavily with spiralling shapes.

Sasuke took a step back, eyeing the door that was turning from transparent to solid. It opened slightly and he could see Naruto's head poking out of it, looking left and right before indicating for the Uchiha to come to him. Sasuke didn't question anything that just happened. He pulled his broomstick from the ground and walked inside, passing Naruto who closed the door behind him. As soon as the Uchiha stepped inside and met the sight of what was hidden in the room, he felt his jaw literally drop.

In that room, inside of the castle, was an entire forest. High trees like in the forbidden forest only it was bright daylight and the branches didn't resemble creepy shadows. The leaves were green and covered every inch of the tree. Unlike the autumn weather outside. The sky was blue and even though Sasuke couldn't see the sun, he could feel the warmth. He walked towards one of the trees. His hand slowly touching the trunk. It felt very real. There was no way this was some sort of illusion. Sasuke could hear Naruto chuckle. He looked over at the Gryffindor boy. He was wearing his school uniform, although he ditched the cloak and rolled up the sleeves of his white shirt. The red and gold tie was now loosely wrapped around his neck.

"You're adorable, dattebayo"

Sasuke was about to say something, but as soon as he opened his mouth to protest he felt something land on his hair. He shook his head quickly and for a moment everything turned into slow-motion. He could see something golden in the corner of his eye and it seemed small and vulnerable. It appeared to be a little hopeless chick. Everything turned back to normal and Sasuke quickly caught the round-bodied bird with gold feathers. He stared at it in his cupped hands, it didn't seem to be a chick after all. It oddly reminded him of the Golden Snitch. It was approximately the size of a walnut. It has a long, thin beak and glittering red eyes.

"Be careful!" Naruto said concerned when he approached the Uchiha. "That is a Snidget, they are endangered."

Sasuke looked astonished by the magical creature. It suddenly flew away from his hands; flew around his head in top speed before changing directions and flying off.

"What is this place?" Sasuke asked, looking at Naruto who had his hands in his pockets. On his shoulder a small twig-like creature was sitting there. His tiny green arms wrapped over each other while his little brown eyes stared at the Uchiha.

"This, my dear Sasuke, is the Room of Requirements." Naruto opened his arms in a dramatic way. "I like to call this the Uzumaki-Forest. I required a room to treat the injured animals I found, and so it took the shape of the forest."

"Amazing…" Sasuke walked towards Naruto, his eyes fixated on the unknown creature on his shoulder. He slowly reached his hand towards it. "What's that?"

Naruto smiled, he found it cute how Sasuke's dark eyes looked so amazed at the little creature on his shoulder.

"That is a Bowtruckle."

The Bowtruckle crawled away from Sasuke and hid on Naruto's back.

"Oh.." Sasuke seemed a little offended by the creature's hiding away. He pulled his arm back before looking up to meet Naruto's eyes.

"Don't take it personal. They're very shy." Naruto rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"Are they?" Sasuke whispered. He bit down his cheek before turning away from Naruto. They were standing very close to each other. He took a couple of steps in the forest before he saw a plumed, two-legged winged creature with a serpentine body just eyeing him from behind a tree. Sasuke was about to approach it to get a better look, but Naruto suddenly wrapped his arm around Sasuke's waist and pulled him away.

"Don't approach her; She is a bit aggressive." Naruto said, walking the other direction.

"What's that?" Sasuke asked, looking over his shoulder back at the creature.

"That is an Occamy. Wonderful creatures." Naruto spoke. "But they are fiercely protective of their eggs. They lay these silver eggs and people think it is alright to just take it from them. I think somebody stole her eggs. She was very hurt when I found her and she still has a hard time trusting wizards."

"Sounds terrible," Sasuke commented as he returned his gaze to Naruto. He had a good view of the scars spread across Naruto's cheek. Sasuke had always noticed them on Naruto's face, but never really thought it was appropriate to ask how he got them. However, Sasuke had to admit it made the Gryffindor look pretty badass. Even though he was sort of a big, sweet softy that took injured animals and nurtured them back to health. Sasuke was feeling slightly conflicted on what made Naruto actually more attractive.

Naruto suddenly stopped walking and pointed at a small felines with large ears and lion-like tail. That was resting on a thick tree branch.

"That is a Kneazle. They sense deception and can make very loyal pets to wizards and witches. My great-grandmother used to say that back in the days a lot of big wizarding clans had a few of them. They were the only things that could detect an illusion by an Uchiha and snap their owners out of it. I am not sure if it worked…Nana is sort of losing it up here.." Naruto tapped his forehead. "But she is almost a hundred and fifty years old."

Sasuke looked up, seeing a couple of pixies flying over their heads.

"Cool…" He whispered. "So you found all these creatures and nurtured them back to health. How come you weren't caught. Is professor Senju that oblivious?"

"Yes…And no. He is been sort of on my tail lately." Naruto looked awkwardly away. "I have been caught in the past by him too. I used to hide everything in my enchanted trunk in the Gryffindor dormitory…But ever since I found the Room of Requirement he wasn't able to catch me red-handed. So…I sort of have been storing the animals here and I neglected setting them free. Kiba and Shikamaru are very angry about it. They are afraid when Tobi-boy does catch us, we will get expelled because of the endangered species here. "

"Yeah, I don't think you are allowed to keep endangered species captive. Even when you enchant a room into a forest." Sasuke spoke. He felt a little nagging feeling inside his stomach. It felt like the only reason he was here was because he was friends with Karin who was Naruto's cousin and probably the only person who would help him without telling on him.

Naruto could see the sudden change in mood, and was about to say something, perhaps to cheer him up, but he never got the chance to. Karin came from between two trees and ran towards Sasuke. She wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly. Naruto had to remove his arm around Sasuke's waist and took a step away from them. He looked away, feeling slightly annoyed.

"You are soaked!" Karin commented when she finally let go of Sasuke.

"I just got back from Quidditch training."

"You are sweaty." Karin took a step back and waved her wand. A small wind circled around Sasuke and suddenly his hair and clothes were dry and he felt like he had just bathed himself in rose-water.

"Your welcome," Karin said while pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose. She turned to her cousin. Her expression changed immediately, she looked almost disgusted.

"He told you why you are here?" Karin asked, folding her arms. She was talking to Sasuke although her eyes were on Naruto.

"I sort of told him…" Naruto seemed a little embarrassed.

Karin wrapped her arms around Sasuke's and pulled him with her.

"My idiot cousin got too attached to the animals he found in the forbidden forest, and started hiding them in here. He never freed them and now that professor Senju is on to them, they want to last minute free all the animals here so they won't get expelled. Not only did he drag himself in this mess. He dragged the other idiots with him!" Karin glared at her cousin from over her shoulder.

Sasuke looked ahead of him and saw a small lake. Shikamaru, Suigetsu, Kiba and Chouji were sitting around a bonfire near it.

"Not to mention that idiot promised uncle Minato he wouldn't go in the forbidden forest alone anymore!" She turned around to look at her cousin, "You broke your promise to him!"

"I wasn't alone!" Naruto shouted, "I'm never actually alone…" He whispered to himself, although Sasuke managed to hear him. He quickly thought back of his theory of Naruto being a jinchuriki. At this point he was about 99,99% sure he was right about it.

"You made it," Shikamaru said calmly. "Excellent."

"Hey man," Suigetsu said. Sasuke grabbed his arm back from Karin and gave Suigetsu a high-five before looking at Kiba and Chouji.

"Why are we dragged into this?" Sasuke asked, quickly eyeing Karin.

"Because Karin and Naruto are family and we are friends with Karin?" Suigetsu raised an eyebrow. "I don't want to be expelled when we get caught. My dads are going to kill." Suigetsu said.

"We won't get caught!" Kiba shouted, looking very confident about the whole ordeal.

"There is about a 75% chance we won't get caught," Shikamaru muttered. Kiba's jaw dropped immediately. "85% with Uchiha helping us." He looked up from the map in his hand.

"I assume you have a plan?" Sasuke asked Shikamaru.

"I have been thinking about this since the beginning of the year." He spoke, "I figured it was never going to work with just the four of us. I just realised this morning that it didn't have to be just the four of us…I thought there is only one possible way for this all to go well, and that was by including you three in it. Only then we have the most secure chance to actually get away with this."

"I don't see a reason why I should stick my neck out for your guys," Suigetsu sighed, folding his arms.

Shikamaru didn't say anything. He looked at Karin who let her head hang slightly.

"Because, Suigetsu, that blond idiot is my cousin and family helps each other out…"

"But I ain't family!?" Suigetsu shouted. Sasuke had to hide his laughter. Suigetsu made a valid point.

"True…" Naruto said, putting his hands in his pockets. "But did I mention my dad could get free tickets for the Quidditch World Cup this summer?" Naruto had a cocky smile on his face, "I am pretty sure if I tell him to get some tickets for my dear friends he would…We are friends, right? Suigetsu?"

Suigetu's expression changed completely all of the sudden.

"Those are sold out…" He whispered.

"They were…But the ministry always buys a bunch of them to give to their employees. I wouldn't mind asking…For a friend. Friends help each other out…Right?" Naruto smirked.

Suigetsu remained quiet and slowly nodded.

"Friend.." Those words tasted bitter in his mouth and he knew he would come to regret it.

"That is settled then, dattebayo!" Naruto said and walked towards Shikamaru.

"So, what is the plan, genius?"

"Right now…" Shikamaru grabbed a stick from the ground and started drawing in the dirt.

"We are here…The forbidden forest is there…" He started. He made a list of animals and started explaining everybody's role inside of the plan. Kiba had to deal with the cat/dog like creatures and bring them to the lake and release them there. Chouji had to release the bird like creatures. Shikamaru and Suigetsu were going to grab the Occamy creatures and release them in the forbidden forest. That left Karin with the smaller creatures that she could release just outside of Hogwarts. They all had their individually paths to take and that left Naruto and Sasuke with the last creature ….The Hippogriff.

"The Hippogriff is a tough one. It can't go in small holes and won't take any of the short cuts. It won't enter tunnels nor set a foot underground…" Shikamaru stated.

"So we need to hide it in plain side. We take Naruto's invisibility cloak and enlarge it to fit the Hippogriff under it. Sasuke, you have to clear the path, make sure no prefect, student or teacher is in the way. Try lurking them away, use magic if needed. Uchihas have a neck for illusion magic. After that you two will have to fly on the Hippogriffs back to mountain tops. Leave it there and return on your broomstick. You have a nimbus 2001? That should fit you and Naruto on it."

"That is very well thought through, but Hogwarts had put an extra barrier around the school. I don't think anybody can go in or out without the headmaster knowing about it," Sasuke stated.

"That is where Karin comes in. She is the only Uzumaki-"

"Hey!" Naruto interrupted, looking slightly offended.

"The only Uzumaki…" Shikamaru didn't care to correct himself, " that is even capable of making a gap in the barrier big enough to let the hippogriff pass."

"Leave that to me," Karin said proudly, giving a determined look.

"Now, go find the animals and bring them back in front of the gate. We leave in ten minutes"

The minutes past very fast. By the time Naruto had found the Hippogriff and brought it to the exit. Sasuke was still taking his quidditch protective gear off.

"That is a Hippogriff?" Sasuke asked, looking at the half horse, half eagle creatures besides Naruto. The animal seemed to be very close to the boy as it constantly showed him affection.

"What did you think they looked like?" Naruto asked, grabbing his invisibility cloak from his orange backpack.

"I don't know…" Sasuke muttered, taking his green cloak off, "A mix between a Hippo and a Griffin?"

Naruto snorted.

"Sasuke, what do you think a Griffin looks like?" He asked, looking amused.

"I don't know…Like a bird?" Sasuke frowned seeing Naruto burst out in laughter.

"A Griffin is a winged, four-footed animal. It has the body of a lion, but the wings and head of an eagle. This is a Hippogriff…Looks sort of like a mix between a horse and an eagle." Naruto said, patting the beak of the beast.

"Pff…" Sasuke turned his head away, feeling a little embarrassed by his lack of knowledge.

"You know, Sasuke, I could sort of teach you about magical creatures." Naruto said, putting the invisibility cloak around the Hippogriff. He grabbed his wand and pointed it at the cloak. The cloak enlarged itself and was able to just cover the Hippogriff. Naruto kept his hand on the creature's neck so he wouldn't lose it.

"You know, maybe you want to spend that extra time in your schedule to help yourself with your own bullshit," Sasuke said as he got up.

Naruto's cracked a smile, but he cheeks turned a little red by the comment.

"Alright, everybody is ready?" Shikamaru approached the door and looked at everybody in the room.

'Wait, where is Kiba?" Suigetsu asked, seeing nobody near the big white dog standing in front of a Wampus Cat, Crups and Kneazle.

The big white dog barked.

"That is Kiba…" Shikamaru said. "He is an Animagus."

"He?!" Suigetsu and Sasuke both looked surprised.

The white dog groaned.

"He never struck me the type to…Actually work hard to become something…" Sasuke admitted.

Kiba barked louder before showing his teeth.

"Well, Inuzuka siblings are talented Animagus." Shikamaru said.

"Even though he failed transfiguration." Chouji teased, seeing the dog's ear hang low.

"Let's go." Shikamaru opened the door and stuck his head out, looking left and right before indicating for everybody to go. Kiba barked and ran, the animals followed him. The others went next. Lastly, Sasuke went followed by Naruto and the Hippogriff.

Sasuke had his wand ready. He put his hand up, causing Naruto and the Hippogriff to stop. He looked around the corner and they remained quiet as two seven years walked by. Neither one of them seemed to pay attention to Naruto or Sasuke.

"And they were roommates!" Said one of the girls while the other gasped. They walked past them and disappeared around the corner.

Sasuke looked over his shoulder at Naruto.

"They were roommates…" The Uzumaki pretended to be stunned, but couldn't hold back a soft laugh.

Sasuke shook his head and walked around the corner. They immediately came to a stop when they heard the sound of heels echoing through the hall.

"There is only one person who wears heels…" Naruto hissed. "We gotta go back before she sees us!"

Sasuke closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He pointed his wand in front of him. Whispering a few words. Naruto didn't see anything coming from the Uchiha's wand, yet he could see Tsunade walking down the hall. Her nose buried in a small book that fit in one hand.

"Sasuke!" Naruto hissed.

"Sush!" Sasuke responded angerly. He opened his eyes and right in front of his, stood Tsunade. She looked up from her book, but seemed to stare right through Sasuke.

"Since when was there a wall here?" She asked out loud. She frowned before turning back. "I will stop drinking during day time…" She muttered to herself.

"…What…." Naruto looked impressed.

"Uchihas are apparently natural illusion casters," Sasuke said with a cocky smile on his face when he looked over his shoulder at Naruto.

"You are awesome!"

Sasuke swung his wand, the illusion disappeared and they continued their way down the hall.

"I know…" Sasuke said as he walked ahead. "First year, twelve o'clock. Act casual."

He could see a first year walk past them. He seemed nervous and scared by the older students. He looked over his shoulder and he shouted loudly causing both Sasuke and Naruto to turn around immediate.

"A FLOODING ASS!?" The first year shouted. Naruto's eyes widened and he looked at the Hippogriff that had his bottom part not under the invisibility cloak anymore.

"Sssh.." Naruto pressed his finger on his lips before pointing his wand at the first year.

"Sweet dreams.." He smiled. The first year fell on the floor and suddenly was fast asleep.

"Not bad, Uzumaki…Not bad.." Sasuke seemed impressed.

"I know" Naruto said, moving the invisibility cloak over the Hippogriffs bottom so it was fully covered again.

"Mr Uzumaki! I saw that."

Naruto and Sasuke froze when they saw the flying instructor, Guy Might , walking towards them.

"We do not bully in this school!" He said in a strict voice while approaching Naruto. The Hippogriff under the invisibility cloak started getting wild. Naruto tried to stop it from doing anything by pressing his hand on its back, but it didn't work. The Hippogriff stood on its two legs and stood up, flapping his wings and moving his legs. The invisibility cloak fell off it on to the ground, causing the flying instructor to take a step back and cover his head with his arms as the Hippogriff was about to strike the teacher with its sharp beak.

"Incarcerous!" Sasuke shouted.

A rope wrapped itself around Guy's torso and pulled him back. His back and head hit the wall hard and he fell on the floor.

"Calm down, boy. Calm down…" Naruto put his hands up , trying to stop the Hippogriff from getting any more aggressive. Sasuke pointed his wand at the creature.

"NO! " Naruto shouted at him. He looked very serious and a bit mad. Sasuke listened as he just kept his wand ready in case the beast would injure Naruto.

"Calm down, boy.." Naruto said a bit softer now, now the Hippogriff stood back on its four legs and moved his head closer to Naruto, allowing the boy to stroke his beak again.

"Good boy...Nobody is disrespecting you here. No worries…" He said calmly. He picked the invisibility cloak from the floor and wrapped it around the Hippogriff again. He turned his head to Sasuke again.

"Hippogriffs are immensely proud and when they don't get respect they can get extremely dangerous. It's not his fault. He thought Professor Might was disrespecting him." Naruto explained. Sasuke narrowed his eyes before shaking his head. He walked towards unconscious teacher and immediately checked his breathing.

"Is he…?" Naruto looked over Sasuke's shoulder.

"He is breathing…" Sasuke said.

"The Incarcerous spell?" Naruto raised a questionable eyebrow. "From every spell the great Sasuke Uchiha can perform?"

"I didn't know how else I could get him away from your stupid Hippogriff. It was that or letting him get struck and bleed out. We would have gotten caught right away!" Sauske hissed.

"Yeah but…He is knocked out, but unlike the first year…He is definitely going to remember what happened and then we are expelled for sure." Naruto said. Sasuke looked at Naruto for a second before grabbing his wand, pointing it at his former flying instructor's head.

"Wow wow, what are you going to do?" Naruto asked, grabbing Sasuke's wrist. "I know being expelled is bad, but we can't kill him."

"I wasn't going to kill him!" Sasuke hissed angerly, pulling his hand back from Naruto.

"What are you going to do?" He asked.

"I thought….I would make him forget…" Sasuke whispered.

"Sasuke, altering somebody's memories is a whole other level of magic. You could actually erase everything he knows. All his memories. We could ruin his life." Naruto said. They both remained quiet for a couple of seconds. Just looking at each other's eyes. It was like the two had a telepathic conversation about their current options. Naruto let go of Sasuke's wrist and nodded.

"Alright then…" Naruto whispered. "If anybody could do it, you can." He assured Sasuke.

"You think?" Sasuke asked.

"You are the brightest wizard I know." Naruto said and stood up he offered Sasuke a hand and Sasuke took it. He looked down at the teacher and he pointed his wand at him.

"Obliviate…" He whispered, a small blue light appeared. He turned his wand slightly and the light disappeared.

"Did it…Work?" Naruto asked. Sasuke looked unsure.

Guy Might opened his eyes and sat up, the roped around his disappeared into thin air.

"Mr Uzumaki…Mr Uchiha," he rubbed the back of his head. "What am I doing on the floor?"

"We just found you like this professor…"Naruto lied quickly.

"What is the last thing you can recall?" Sasuke asked, not so very subtle as Naruto had hoped he would be.

"I remember walking towards the Headmaster's office and…Then everything turned blank."

"Professor, you must not be eating right. It is probably low blood sugar that got you to faint." Sasuke said, helping the professor up.

"Perhaps…Not very youthful of me." He rubbed the back of his head and walked away from the scene. Naruto and Sasuke smiled, seeing him take the turn and disappear from sight. Both Naruto and Sasuke jumped up and embraced one another.

"I can't believe it worked…" Sasuke said.

"You are unbelievable. Brightest wizard I know!" Naruto said. Both of them remained quiet before they let go.

"Uhm…We better get going…" Sasuke said, immediately turning around and ahead of Naruto. His face was feeling warm and he could hear his heart beat faster inside his chest.

"Hey Sasuke," Naruto said, "You know, I didn't mean to offend you in anyway by-"

"Oh please can you shut up." Sasuke said, his cheeks still red, "You try not to feel offended when you think somebody is going to kiss you and then runs away from you."

There was a long uncomfortable silence.

"I meant for laughing at your lack of knowledge about magical creatures back in the Room of Requirements…I figured indicating to teach you made you angry back there…"

Sasuke felt suddenly extremely embarrassed. He hoped if he just didn't talk it would blow away…But it didn't.

"Sasuke…I wasn't trying to…."

"Just shut up." Sasuke hissed.

"What?" Naruto stopped walking and looked concerned. He just continued looking ahead of him. It was like the Uchiha spoke a complete different language for a second.

"Just…Shut up…" Sasuke said, taking a deep breath.

He felt a pain in his chest and tears were welling up in his eyes. He wasn't sure if it was from embarrassment or something else, but it took all his will power to not tear up.

Naruto remained quiet the rest of the way. He wasn't sure if he should say anything right now. They made it outside and near the forbidden forest Naruto took the invisibility cloak off the Hippogriff.

"What took you two so long?" Karin asked, looking a bit angry next to Shikamaru who just seemed relieved.

"Well…We had some trouble on the way. We encountered both Tsunade and Guy," Sasuke quickly said, "Both are taken care off."

"Are you alright?" Karin asked, narrowing her eyes. "Did my idiot cousin do something?"

"No." Sasuke said coldly. Karin glared at her cousin.

Naruto climbed on top of the Hippogriff and stroked it's head.

"Karin and I will stay here to open the barrier once you arrive." Shikamaru told Naruto, keeping a good distance away from the Hippogriff.

"Did the others succeed?" Naruto asked him. Shikamaru gave a quick nod.

"Fantastic," Naruto said excitedly. He looked at Sasuke who was talking to Karin.

"Sasuke, we have to get going!" Naruto said. Extending his hand to Sasuke who was frowning.

"I am not going on that thing!" Sasuke warned. "I saw it attack Guy like he was some meat hanging at the butchers."

"Come on, Sasuke. We will have to be under the invisibility cloak and that won't work when you flying on a broomstick."

"God, this day can't get worse!" Sasuke hissed to himself. He slowly approached the Hippogriff. It suddenly flexed its wings causing Sasuke to stop waking up to it immediately.

"It is alright, boy. He is my friend." Naruto said while patting it's head. He offered his hand again to Sasuke, but he seemed doubtful to take it or not. He sighed not sure what other way to get on top of a flying beast. He grabbed Naruto's hand and Naruto pulled him up so Sasuke was sitting in front of him.

"It is like riding a horse…." Sasuke tried to convince himself. Though he wasn't sure where to hold on to. It didn't seem like a good idea to grab the features as his own hawk hated that. Naruto grabbed the cloak and pulled it over him and Sasuke.

"We are ready!" Naruto said from under the cloak. Sasuke could feel his back pressed against Naruto's torso and it felt like he was inside a sauna. It was so warm in here.

"What are you doing?" Sasuke's voice rose when he felt Naruto wrap an arm around Sasuke's waist while the other was holding the Hippogriff.

"I am making sure you don't fall off, dattebayo" Naruto said, slightly annoyed.

"I think I am perfectly capable of holding on to a-" Sasuke yelled when the Hippogriff expended it's wings and ran forward. He turned his torso around and wrapped his arms around Naruto and held on for dear life. The beast jumped up and moved his powerful wings, causing it to take off.

"Holy shit. Holy shit. Holy shit!" Sasuke shouted. He could hear Naruto and it made him angry but at the same time he didn't want to let go for his own safety.

They could see a weirdly shaped golden ring in the air and it seemed to be the opening of the barriers. They flew through it and headed for the mountains.

"Ha! We did it!" Naruto shouted, seeing his cousin and Shikamaru stand there. Chouji, Kiba and Suigetsu joining them.

Once the Hippogriff got high in the air, it started flying more stable. Sasuke's grip around Naruto loosened.

"You can let go, I will hold you" Naruto said with a smile on his face. Sasuke seemed doubtful at first, but turned slowly around, his wands around the arm Naruto had wrapped around him.

"Let me just get this cloak off of-"

Naruto wanted to let go, but when he tried he could feel Sasuke grab on to his arm. He smiled and used his other hand to pull the invisibility cloak off them when they were far enough from Hogwarts.

"It is different from a broomstick, right?" Naruto leaned his chin on Sasuke's shoulder.

"It is amazing and scary!" Sasuke admitted when he looked the view beneath them

"It is, isn't it?" Naruto said. "You should spread your arms. It is wonderful!" Naruto said.

"What! No! I will fall!" Sasuke said.

"I got you, Sauske."

"Oh my God…I am going to pull a Titanic.." Sasuke whispered and took a deep breath before slowly letting go of Naruto's arm and spreading them.

"THIS IS FREAKING AMAZING!" Sasuke shouted out of the top of his lungs. Naruto held Sasuke slightly tighter around his waist.

"What's a Titanic?" Naruto asked.

"Never mind!" Sasuke shouted.

They landed on top of a mountain. Naruto jumped off the Hippogriff's back and helped Sasuke off too.

"Here you go boy" Naruto said when he stroked the features of the Hippogriff and gave it a small kiss on its beak. The Hippogriff looked sad and put one of his wing around Naruto.

"I know. It is hard. But you have to go out there. Live life. Be in a real forest…Find yourself a mate" Naruto wrapped his arms around the neck of the Hippogriff. "And when you do find a mate and maybe have little children. You should look me up, alright?" Naruto smiled.

Sasuke just stood a few meters away from them, observing.

"I know it is hard…But we gotta." Naruto turned around. "You have to go…Fly away. Get out. Live life!" Naruto said dramatically.

Sasuke could see the Hippogriff fly off. However, Naruto was too caught in his dramatic act to realise it was already gone. Sasuke sat down on the grass, hugging his knees as he watched the scene.

"Spread your wings! Find your own path! I believe in you!"

"Naruto…"

"Fly away! My sweet boy! You can leave me!"

"It already left after the first time you said it should go." Sasuke said.

Naruto opened his eyes and turned around, seeing indeed no Hippogriff standing behind him.

"You little bitch, you left me!" Naruto shouted, "You were supposed to be loyal to me! Dattebayo!" Frustrated Naruto walked up the hill and sat down next to Sasuke.

"It is very beautiful up here," Sasuke said, "I can see Hogwarts. It looks so small."

"Yeah it does," Naruto said, leaning on his elbows. They stared at the horizon, seeing the sun set.

"When was the last time you admired a sun set?" Naruto asked.

"Too long ago…" Sasuke said, the wind blowing his hair all over his face. He laughed slightly, pushing his hair away from his eyes before the wind blew it back on there. Naruto sat up and leaned in, tucking Sasuke's bangs behind his ears.

Sasuke looked slightly surprised at Naruto and they just sat there for a few seconds. Naruto suddenly leaned forward, his hands carefully cupping Sasuke's cheeks. His eyes were drawn to Sasuke's lips. Slightly separated, full and beautiful. He leaned in and kissed him, softly at first. His heart was beating hard inside his chest, his face feeling warmer than usual.

Naruto Uzumaki, a teenager known for doing things head first, whom was considered brave and confident, was feeling like a nervous wreck. Afraid to hurt the boy in front of him. Afraid to offend him…But most of all, afraid to get rejected by him. However, Sasuke did more than just not stop Naruto. He kissed him back. Careful… Not knowing exactly how to kiss, afraid to make a mistake. But much like most of his school subject...He was natural; learning fast and getting the hang of it even faster.

Naruto was surprised, feeling Sasuke's lips brush up against his. Naruto's hands moves from Sasuke's cheeks to his hair, stroking the thick, soft raven hair before wrapping his arms around Sasuke's waist, pulling him closer to him.

All things must end, and eventually Sasuke pulled back from the kiss. Panting slightly as adrenaline rushed through his veins. He looked up to meet Naruto's eyes.

"I..I thought…." He mind was still a bit blurry. He shook his head, waking himself up. "I thought you never wanted to kiss me."

"Why did you think that?" Naruto asked confused.

"For starters you said in the hall you didn't mean to kiss me!"

"That is not what I said! Dattebayo! You cut me off before I could say anything. I never wanted to offend you…Make you feel bad. I thought I must have really hurt you by…You know…Panicking and just patting you…I thought you were mad about that today."

Sasuke's eyes turned dark as he narrowed them. A dark aura surrounding him.

"You made me feel pretty damn bad in that hallway…Twice." Sasuke said.

Naruto had a nervous smile on his face, a sweat drop appearing on his forehead.

"You can be pretty scary tho.." He muttered. The dark expression turned even darker.

"My bad! Dattebayo!" Naruto said, putting his hands up in an innocent way. "You are really cute" He said as he leaned in to sneak in another kiss.

Night fall came and Sasuke and Naruto flew in on the Nimbus 2001. Sasuke was holding the invisibility cloak around them with one hand, holding Naruto by the waist with his other so he wouldn't fall off his own broomstick. They had some pretty hard wind up in the mountains. It was pretty unfamiliar to Sasuke who was used to flying only on a Quidditch field. Naruto ended up flying the broom instead, leaving Sasuke a bit butt-hurt. The barrier opened, they could see a perfect golden circle a bit bigger than they exited from. Naruto stopped the broom right in front of the barrier.

"What is it?" Sasuke asked "Hurry up, I don't Karin can keep it open for much longer."

"Don't you think it's strange? We exited with a Hippogriff trough a much smaller opening…How come she now managed to make an even a bigger one? The first one was hard enough…This should be smaller…"

"Maybe she improved?" Sasuke suggested, "give her some credit."

"Oh…Fuck…" Naruto looked down at the spot where Karin and Shikamaru were supposed to wait for their return, but instead…Tobirama Senju was standing there, glaring at the broomstick. Knowing damn well it was being used by somebody under an invisibility cloak. Sasuke didn't seem to notice. Naruto sighed.

"Don't hate me…" Naruto said as he flew inside, flying immediately close to the ground.

"Why? Naruto, what is wrong?" Sasuke asked. Naruto pushed Sasuke off the broomstick and Sasuke fell in a bush, the invisibility cloak wrapped around him.

"You bitch…" Sasuke sat up and he saw professor Senju standing near the forbidden forest. He looked pissed. Sasuke got up from the bush, wrapping the cloak around him. Now it made sense why Naruto pushed him in the bushes. He slowly walked towards Tobirama Senju, to hear what he was about to say.

"Naruto Uzumaki…" He said in an incredibly angry voice.

"Tobi-boy" Naruto got off his broomstick. Leaving it behind him with hopes the teacher won't notice it wasn't even his and there was only one Quidditch player who owned a nimbus 2001.

"Don't!" He snarled.

"Where is the other one?" Tobirama asked.

"My…Other broomstick?" Naruto acted oblivious.

"Mr Uchiha" Tobirama said, "I know he is with you! Hiding under the cloak?"

"Why?" Naruto asked. "I just dropped the cloak for dramatic effect."

"I am asking the questions, Mr Uzumaki." Tobirama said sternly. "Hiding magical creatures, -endangered ones nonetheless -inside the castle. Breaking the protective barrier and going outside of it. Do you have any idea in how much danger you have brought upon yourself and the entire wizarding community."

"Well, wizarding community is a bit far fetches-"

"Silence!" Tobirama snapped, "You know what you are, it is time you start acting like it." He hissed the last part. Naruto remained quiet and lowered his eyes to the ground.

"I am sorry, sir…" He said.

"Where is Mr. Uchiha?" Tobirama looked around him. Sasuke held his breath. He doomed.

"Jeez I don't know." Naruto looked up from the floor, "I dropped it …And it is an invisibility cloak so…Now it turned…Invisible…So…I don't have it anymore."

"That was an heirloom of my clan, gifted to your clan and you…Just lost it?" Tobirama couldn't look more pissed than he did at the particular moment.

"Sorry?" Naruto said unsure on what to say next. Tobirama grabbed Naruto by his ear and pulled him behind him. Naruto hissed painfully.

" Uzumaki, you are in big trouble." Tobirama said, heading towards the castle.

"Sir…Am I …Getting expelled?" Naruto asked carefully, his expression looking a bit painful.

Tobirama stopped walking and stood still. He let go of Naruto's ear.

"No…But you will get all the punishments that is possible for me to give you."

"….Could you please just expel me instead?" Naruto asked, feeling Tobirama smack him in the back of the head.

"To my office, Uzumaki. "


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12 "The Fox"

Sasuke Uchiha was packing his schoolbag in the empty third years dormitory. He had put Naruto's invisibility cloak in the bottom of his bag before hiding it with books. He had to make sure it wasn't visible if one of the teacher were to check his bag randomly. He had to cover all his bases to be certain Tobirama had no evidence of Sasuke ever aiding Naruto in his escape, last night. The Uchiha wrapped the bag around one of his shoulders, and fixed his tie before turning around. His eyes immediately locked with Kakashi Hatake's, the D.A.D.A professor, he had been standing in the door opening for quite some time now. Sasuke had no idea how long the man had been there, but all he knew is that Hatake wasn't up early in the morning for no reason. He wanted something.

"Professor" Sasuke spoke, he smiled kindly although it appeared rather sinister to Kakashi.

"I know you were involved in Naruto's break out yesterday," Kakashi said calmly, cutting to the case right away.

"Break out?" Sasuke asked, seeming almost sincere in his lie. "Why would he break out? This isn't a prison, is it?"

"I know you had something to do with it," Kakashi said determined.

"Say, were you standing like that in front of the girl's dormitory too? Where I come from, that is a serious offense." Sasuke joked, folding his arms.

"I am not here to bust you, or give you any sort of punishment-"

"Because you don't have proof, professor?" Sasuke interrupted him, that sinister look appeared on his face again, "No…Memory extraction, no Veritaserum?" Sasuke walked towards the door confident in his case.

"We are a school Sasuke, not a federal agency" Kakashi wasn't amused, "but good to see you being thorough. You take after your brother more by the day."

Sasuke dropped his bag on the floor. He folded his arms as he glared at Kakashi. Those words strung.

"What do you mean by that?" the Uchiha hissed angerly.

"That he, too, thought of everything. That is why, to this day , The Ministry of Magic hasn't managed to catch him." Kakashi stood up straight. "He was about your age when he committed mass murder. Sure, it is a very different from **oblivating** teachers and using **illusion spells** in the hall way."

Sasuke's kept a straight face, causing Kakashi to smile.

"You're a smart boy. You know what I mean" Kakashi whispered and turned around, "You should hurry up for breakfast. That is the most important meal of the day after all." With those words Kakashi Hatake disappeared and left nothing, but a bit of black smoke behind.

Sasuke picked up his bag from the ground and walked to The Great Hall. He immediately saw Karin and Suigetsu siting in their usual spot and he headed towards them.

"What happened last night?" Karin immediately asked. "We had been waiting for you two and then Tobirama came outside. We tried to hide, but he found us and send us back inside the castle. He took twenty points from both of us. He then just stood there…Like he knew you and Naruto were gone from Hogwarts premises." Karin talked so fast, Sasuke wasn't sure he understood half of what she just said.

"It is Tobirama Senju…That guy knows everything. It is scary…" Suigetsu mumbled.

"I didn't get caught. Naruto gave me his invisibility cloak and pushed me off my own broomstick," Sasuke sighed. "Tobirama was pissed."

"At least the idiot did one noble thing. Better pissed than expelled. They won't get rid Naruto, " Karin said resentful. She remained quiet for a couple of seconds, "Because…Of Uncle Minato…" She added. Sasuke was impressed how well Karin was able to lie, although he knew better than to believe her. Suigetsu, on the other hand, looked confused by the extra information.

Sasuke was looking over at the Gryffindor table. He saw no sign of Naruto. He focussed back on his friends.

"Kakashi came to the dormitory…" Sasuke whispered. "He was completely on to me. He talked about my brother. It was really strange."

"What did he say?" Karin asked curiously.

"Something about…Me looking like him. How he isn't caught yet and how he...Killed people and it was different from me obliviating professor Guy and casting illusions…" Sasuke whispered, looking at the teacher's table. Kakashi wasn't there…Neither was Tobirama.

"Duh. He was telling you it was dangerous for you to be outside of Hogwarts," Karin explained. "He clearly stated that your brother is still out there and how dangerous he is."

"Yeah…And probably skill difference too…He did kill the most powerful clan that existed in the wizarding world when he was 13…We are 13…I have troubled transfiguration my toad into a cup yet he was there just…Slaughtering a whole clan" Suigetsu looked a bit scared.

"….I am nowhere near as powerful as he" Sasuke whispered, looking down at the oak meal "Kakashi was telling me not to get cocky…"

"Indeed" Karin nodded, "You are starting to learn how to read between the lines." She had a smirk on her face.

"Has anybody seen Naruto after last night?" Sasuke changed the subject after pouring himself a cup of coffee. Suigetsu shook his head while Karin pointed at the entrance. Sasuke looked at the door of The Great Hall. Naruto just walked inside, appearing gloomy, he looked around the hall and his blue eyes locked with Sasuke's dark ones. Naruto's expression changed into a smiled before he waved at the Slytherin table and walked towards them.

"Good morning," Naruto said, he sat down next to Sasuke, forcing Suigetsu to move aside and make space for him. Suigetsu shared a quick look with Sasuke who just gave a small, apologetic look.

"Gryffindor table is right there," Karin pointed behind her. "Haven't you gotten us in enough trouble?"

"They are all tables, Karin. Nobody cares" Naruto rolled his eyes.

"Naruto!"

Kiba , Shikamaru and Chouji got up from the Gryffindor table and headed to sit at the Slytherin's, causing some of the Slytherins to groan and glare at them. The Gryffindors didn't seem to care at all.

"What happened?" Kiba asked.

"You never made it back to the dormitories," Chouji stated.

"I didn't think Tobirama Senju would have sensed the barrier breaking. I'm sorry, man." Shikamaru apologised. "I figured only the Sealing Team was involved in casting the barrier around Hogwarts. I thought by the time they would make it here, you would have been back and they would just think it was a mistake or a default."

"It is alright. It's really not that bad. I'm not expelled!" Naruto assured, wrapping an arm around Sasuke before stealing his cup of coffee and taking a sip. Karin frowned slightly by the sight of her cousin and one of her best friends. Naruto made a bitter face.

"Ew, no milk? No sugar?" Naruto questioned Sasuke, looking disgusted when he put the cup down.

"Don't criticise my taste buds," Sasuke grabbed his cup back from Naruto. Naruto just shook his head in disgust.

"I have a curfew now. I have to be in the Gryffidnor dormitory…"

He broke off his sentence halfway, glaring annoyed at the teacher's table.

"Not the common room…The dormitory. At eight. I'm not allowed to visit Hogsmeade anymore. I have detention on Friday to Sunday." Naruto face looked depressed now. He seemed to have come to the realisation that his punishment was more severe than he had let it out to be.

"For how long?"Suigetsu asked.

"Rest of the year…." Naruto hit his forehead on the wooden table.

"The year has just begun…" Shikamaru noted.

"Also…They notified my parents." Naruto was making a terrified expression.

"Oh…You're dead." Karin noted, taking a bite from her cornflakes.

"I am waiting for them to pop up and beat the shit out of me." Naruto started sulked "They think I lost my invisibility cloak...My mum is going to come here and slit my throat and just pour my blood all over this table."

"We could tell her we found it?" Sasuke suggested.

"It is an invisibility cloak. They will know I lied to Tobirama. My mum would decapitate me and make me watch my body fall on the-"

"We get it." Suigetsu and Kiba both said before Naruto could give another gruesome description of what is angry mother would, hypothetically, do to him.

A screeching sound was heard and everybody looked at the ceiling. A couple of dozen owls were flying around while one hawk dived immediately down and landed in front of Sasuke, holding two red envelops in its beak.

"Good girl," Sasuke said, patting her head with one finger before taking the letters.

"So awesome…" Naruto noted before looking at the red envelops, "Did your muggle dad write you a howler?" Naruto frowned slightly by the idea of a muggle writing a howler.

Sasuke stared at the addressed name on the letters. Both of them had Uzumaki written on it.

"No…These aren't for me. This one is yours" Sasuke said. Karin laughed loudly while Naruto looked paler than ever.

"You got a Howler!" Karin pointing a finger at her cousin.

"-And yours…" Sasuke added, handing the second envelop to Karin.

"W-What! Why me! I didn't do anything!" Karin shouted like it was Sasuke's choice to give her one.

"This is all your fault!" She slammed her hands on the table and glared at Naruto.

"We have two howlers and you still want to scream?" Naruto raised a questionable eyebrow.

"Go on…Open it!" Suigetsu said with a big smirk on his face.

"From my experience with howlers, and I get a lot of them, it's better to open them as soon as possible." Naruto advised Karin. She looked horrified and swallowed loudly. Naruto turned his head to Sasuke, "What you are about to witness ain't a pretty sight, dattebayo," Naruto warned

"Just do it," Sasuke encouraged him. Naruto opened his letter and closed his eyes.

"NARUTO UZUMAKI!"

Sasuke recognised Kushina's voice immediately. The letter folded itself into a talking mouth and was now hovering in the air.

"HOW DARE YOU LEAVE THE HOGWARTS PREMISIS! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW DANGEROUS AND RECKLESS YOU WERE BEING. YOUR FATHER AND I ARE VERY ANGRY…." The howler went on for quite some time. Sasuke had to cover his ears because the screaming started to take its toll on them.

"IF YOU SET ONE MORE TOE OUT OF LINE. WE WILL PERSONALLY TAKE YOU HOME!" The letter than busted into flames and the ashes fell on the table.

"That was rough to listen to," Sasuke admitted, looking at Naruto who seemed horrified.

"Yup…' Naruto whispered, blankly staring in front of him as he was in a state of shock. Everybody's eyes turned to Karin. She was scared.

"You better rip the bandage off," Shikamaru suggested.

"And end up like that?" Karin pointed at her cousin that seemed like a soulless shell.

"What if I open it for you?" Sasuke offered. Karin passed the envelop to him. As soon as the waxed seal was broken with itt shaped into a mouth and it turned to Karin, despite Sasuke being the one who opened it.

"Karin Uzumaki!" The howler shouted. "How dare you get caught in your cousin's idiocy! I had taken you to be a brighter witch than that! How could you, in your right mind, knowing how things are, break that sealing!-"

"Great job on that, by the way," Kushina's voice was heard interrupting the message. "I am so proud of you, honey. You're are a truly talented Uzumaki."

The message soon continued into screaming, unlike Kushina's howler, the one Karin's mother send was not as loud. The letter eventually busted out in flames too.

Karin was breathing deeply in and out, tears welling up in her eyes. Sasuke and Suigetsu quickly shared a look of concern. She suddenly got up, slamming her fists on the table.

"THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" Karin screamed from the top of her lungs. She leaned in to smack the boy in his face, but Naruto fell backwards and made a somersault before getting on his feet. Sasuke just managed to dodge Karin's palm and she ended up hitting Chouji who was unfortunate enough to have taken the seat on Sasuke's right.

He looked horrified as his cheek was entirely red. Karin didn't give him a second thought.

"COME HERE YOU!" Karin shouted at her cousin, running after Naruto while holding her wand out.

"Should we stop them?" Sasuke asked, seeing them disappear around a corner.

"Nah" Kiba said, reaching for a sausage with Karin's clean fork, "sibling always fights." He added after taking a bite.

"You alright, big boy?" Shikamaru asked Chouji who was rubbing his painful cheek.

The day went by fast. Sasuke had just finished his Divination lesson and decided to spend the remaining 20 minutes he had in the library, starting his homework and hopefully getting some of it done before lunch. The Uchiha stepped inside of the library. It was almost empty except for a Ravenclaw fifth year that was studying hard and had her entire face buried in a book. Sasuke sat down at an empty table. He took out his Divination book with a scroll of parchment. He went through the pages of the book, trying to find a passage that could help him with crystal gazing. The class was supposed to predict the upcoming week, but it felt like he didn't quite grasped Divination like he had expected to. He had enjoyed the brief moment when they were discussing messages in dreams, but nothing about a masked-man in white empty space came up at the time, leaving him to still wonder about the memorable dream.

Sasuke swung his wand in the air and a crystal orb flew towards him a hovered above the table.

A couple of lessons ago they tried predicted the future through tea leaves, but all he got was a sign of getting a visit of Death. He doubted that was right at all. Suigetsu noted that his tea leaves shaped more like an alpaca then a grim. Whatever they used, Sasuke always predicted something horrible coming his way.

The Uchiha leaned in and looked closer at the crystal orb, trying to focus. For a moment he thought he caught a glimpse of red, like blood. Suddenly everything went dark in front of his eyes.

"Guess who?" He could hear Naruto's voice ask. Sasuke frowned. These hands around his eyes felt so much softer and chubbier.

"Naruto…Using Chouji's hands?" Sasuke questioned. Chouji removed his hands and Sasuke could see their reflection in the orb. He could see the red from their Gryffindor uniforms clearly. He thought he was getting somewhere few seconds ago, but now it was ruined.

"Hey Sasuke," Chouji gave the Uchiha a friendly smile before sitting adjacent of him. Naruto took the seat next to Sasuke, putting his arm over the Uchiha's chair.

"You really took Divination?" Naruto asked, looking at the crystal orb. "Predict my week!"

"Sush!"

Naruto gave the librarian an apologetic look before turning to Sasuke.

"I'm not so good at it," Sasuke admitted.

"You should always give it a try, trying is better than doing nothing," Chouji gave an encouraging nod.

Sasuke leaned forward, concentrating at the orb. He didn't seem to see anything for the first couple of seconds of mindlessly staring at it, but at some point. He could see the fog take a shape of a fox; A fox with nine tails, it looked angry and threatening.

"Do you see anything?" Naruto asked.

"Nothing…" Sasuke leaned back in his chair. "I'm should be predicting my own week, but all I see is either tragic events or I don't see anything at all."

"Professor Kurenai loves drama. You should just predict your own death several times this week. I heard Ino did that during her exam and past." Naruto grabbed Sasuke parchment and quill.

"On Wednesday you will be kissed by a very handsome young man." Naruto looked at Sasuke from the corner of his eyes and winked.

"Yeah and he will be the cause of something terrible happening!" Chouji added, "like…Breaking several ribs!"

"I..I don't think the handsome man is going to break any ribs" Naruto said nervously, "Oh, today you will be confronted with something you have been dreading."

"What does that even mean?" Sasuke raised a questionable eyebrow at Naruto.

"I don't know…Maybe telling Karin you have a crush on her hot handsome cousin" Naruto teased. He had a big grin on his face which made him even more handsome than Sasuke liked to admit.

"Nagato is sort of cute. I am digging that emo-hair."

Naruto pouted by Sasuke's comment.

"A good friend will die this Friday" Chouji added.

"Saturday you will receive an award for something. Let's add some light-hearted things, otherwise she might be on to us." Naruto said, writing all of it down. "See, this is easy!"

"You think Professor Kurenai would notice?" Sasuke asked, looking at the parchment.

"Probably not. I think she sort of drinks a lot…" Naruto commented, sliding the parchment back to Sasuke. His dominant hand had an orange colour and Sasuke grabbed Naruto's wrist.

"What is this?" He recognised the colouring potion. Chouji started laughing and Naruto grinned.

"I made a colouring potion and put it in Tobirama's chair. During lunch when he sits down, it will explode all over him and he will be covered in orange."

"Are you insane?" Sasuke frowned, giving Naruto a serious look. "If you get caught your mother will pull you out of school."

"My mum says that every year, empty threats" Naruto assured. "Hey, you're good at potions? Do you know how to get rid of it?" Naruto indicated at the orange colour on his hand.

"It should disappear after three days on its own," Sasuke noted. "But I remember reading something about how to make it go away right away."

"Did you find it in the library?" Naruto asked and Sasuke nodded. They got up and walked toward the potion section. A few books flew over their heads and Sasuke looked at some of the shelves that were within his reach. He felt Naruto wrap his arms around his waist and Sasuke grinned. He grabbed a purple book and turned around.

"Are you serious?" Sasuke asked. Naruto leaned in, his hand grabbing a bookshelf to support himself on.

"Pretty serious," Naruto smiled, looking down at Sasuke. "Come on, I'm having the worst year ever. I could use this to make it all better?"

"I am not that big of a fan of public affection," Sasuke put the book between his and Naruto's lips.

"Right, because we have the luxury of running off the Hogwarts premises all the time, dattebayo." Naruto chuckled, "I still have Monday to Thursday where I can get detention. Not to mention they can always threaten to kick me off the Quidditch team? I gladly exchange that for a make out session" Naruto winked, causing Sasuke to look away. He felt very warm all of the sudden.

"Would make it only easier for me to snatch that Quidditch Cup from you" Sasuke whispered.

"You know what, I will just kiss the air between us and hope it vibrates on to your lips?" Naruto joked, "You're cool with that, right?"

"You're such a moron..." Sasuke leaned in and gave Naruto a quick kiss on his lips. He felt Naruto wrap his arms around him and pull him closer, kissing him longer and more passionately.

The bell rang, indicating lunch time.

"I thought you wanted to find a way to get the orange off your hand?" Sasuke asked, breaking the kiss.

"Yeah, I will just wash it with salt water," Naruto leaned in to steal another kiss, but Sasuke pulled away and quickly flipped through the book he was holding. He immediately found the passage about colouring potions and looked at Naruto.

"You're right…." Sasuke seemed stunned. He let go of the book and it flooded back to its original place.

"I can be smart," Naruto smirked.

"Maybe I did underestimate you, idiot" Sasuke admitted with a small smile on his face.

"We should go grab lunch and watch my revenge on Tobi-boy" Naruto held Sasuke's hand and pulled him with him.

"Oh wait…My stuff…" Sasuke pulled his wand out his and made a circling motion, causing everything to pack itself and the bag that follow him to The Great Hall Sasuke sat down on the Gryffindor table next to Naruto who was eyeing the teacher's table every couple of seconds.

Sasuke poured himself some pumpkin juice and looked at Shikamaru and Kiba sitting down in front of them. Neither of them said anything as they just reached for the turkey sandwiches.

"Naruto…What chair did you put the colouring potion?" Sasuke asked, grabbing a sandwich from the table.

"The right one from the headmaster's seat, dattebayo." Naruto said. "Shikamaru said that Tobi-boy sat on the right side from Hashirama."

"Oh shit, Tobirama is going to get it." Kiba was looking excited.

"Tobirama sits on Hashirama's right **hand side** …" Sasuke noted. "That means when you walk inside The Great Hall, it is the left chair from the headmaster's."

There was a moment of silence as both Kiba and Naruto just stared blankly in front of them. They saw Tobirama walk in with his brother and both of them sat down. Nothing happened.

"Oh…Shit.." Naruto saw Professor Tsuande walk towards her seat on the other side of Hashirama. She sat down and a flow of orange paint just flew all over her; she screamed, both Hashirama and Tobirama got up from their chairs. Hashirama had to hold back his laughter and Tobirama quickly grabbed a napkin.

"Keep your eyes close, Tsuna. This substance could permanently blind you when it comes into contact with your eyes." Tobirama said calmly, but stern.

"NARUTOOOOO~!" Tsunade yelled, her voice louder than the Howler Kushina had send.

"Oh fuck…" Naruto got up from the table and grabbed Sasuke's face, forcing the Uchiha to look him in the eyes, "When you find my dead body, avenge me, Sasuke!" He shouted before running off while Kiba and Chouji followed him.

"I told them..Hashirama's right." Shikamaru commented, looking bored. "They're troublesome."

Sasuke shook his head, looking at the teacher's table. He couldn't surpass a small chuckle at the sight of Tsunade angerly screaming.

The week was passing by fast and it was getting pretty busy for Sasuke with his homework, lessons, studies, Quidditch practice and Duelling club. The moments in between his lessons and after Quidditch he spend with his newly required love interest, Naruto Uzumaki. Sasuke found those moments to be the least stressful of his day. They would walk around the lake or make-out in the library. With Sasuke's great illusion spells, the only professor they had to be worries about was Professor Hatake, who was never at the library and Professor Senju who found the remains of illusion spells several times and was getting suspicious.

Sasuke got up earlier than usual to meet Naruto in The Great Hall. They were playing Wizard's Chest. It was a lot of fun to see the pieces move and destroy each other. He figured, watching the current position of their chest pieces, Sasuke could probably win this pretty easily.

"Knight to E5," Sasuke said. The red knight moved on its own to the coordination.

"Rookie mistake," Naruto smiled, "Queen to E5."

Sasuke saw the white piece, shaped like a queen, move to the black square his knight was on. She grabbed her chair and swung it around, smashing the knight to bits before taking the spot herself. Naruto grabbed the red bits and placed it aside.

"How stupid of me…" Sasuke frowned, trying to think about his next move. Although there was a minor set-back, he figured there was still a good chance of winning. The came continued for at least a few more minutes before Naruto made his final move.

"Queen to F6," Naruto said. His Queen moved in front of Sasuke's King that was placed on H6.

He looked up to see Sasuke's face. At first the Uchiha showed no sign of emotions, then he frowned and at last he gasped and looked up at Naruto.

"Checkmate," Naruto said with a grin on his face.

"I don't believe it," Sasuke said, seeing his King tremble in fear. "You actually beat me."

"I'm surprised too, I thought I would lose after the first couple of sets." Naruto scratched the back of his head.

"I guess I underestimated you, idiot." Sasuke said, looking down at the pieces building themselves up and moving the board and themselves back to the box.

"Are you going to stay over the Christmas Holiday?" Naruto asked, seeing the breakfast appear on the table. Now more and more students entered The Great Hall.

"No, I'm going home. The Police station Obito works at throws these annoying Christmas parties and I have to go. He wants me to socialize with the other kids. I don't think he gets that I don't like any of them. They're brats."

"Well, I was thinking…." Naruto put his leg on the bench and rested his elbow on it, looking very comfortable in his hideous orange jumpsuit. "You know…Maybe you could over this winter break?"

"Are you serious?" Sasuke raised a questionable eyebrow.

"Well, I am not allowed to go to the muggle-world alone." He said bitterly. " But for you it would be a whole new experience to see how the wizard community lives. I would love to show you around. There is Konoha, a village, and the Uzumaki-Mansion. There is this huge forest right outside with creatures I doubt you can even imagined. Not to forget about the Sunrise, it's beautiful up the mountains." Naruto was talking very fast and excited. Just hearing him talk about his home-town was adorable.

"You think your parents wouldn't mind? After-all, you are still in trouble." Sasuke said, grabbing a croissant. It was still warm in his hand.

"I thought about that! Of course, they won't allow me to bring any friends over,….But Karin is still their sweet little niece who's only mistake was family loyalty. Besides, she would love to have some friends over. Only then will at least some people believe she has any…" Naruto muttered the last part.

"And my parents obviously won't be too bad over the holiday because you're there! " Naruto dramatically indicated to Sasuke.

"I see why you are so good at chest," Sasuke noted, "I will have to ask my dad, and Karin."

"Just ask your dad. I'll make sure Karin is going to ask you to come over at the end of today." Naruto had a mischievous look in his eyes.

"I honestly do underestimate you." Sasuke looked over his shoulder at the Slytherin table. He could see Suigetsu and Karin sitting down.

"I am going over there. I'll see you at Duelling Club." Sasuke said, getting up just before Kiba arrived to take over the seat in front of Naruto.

He sat down with his friends, eating the rest of his croissant while hearing about Suigetu's crazy dream. Karin had already stopped paying attention at Suigetsu and looked over at Sasuke.

"You were up very early this morning," She stated.

"I know, I couldn't sleep." Sasuke quickly said, grabbing some pumpkin juice. He looked up at the ceiling, recognising his Hawk flying in and diving to the table. He landed on Sasuke's plate and flexed her wings.

"Strange…" Sasuke noted, stroking the beak of his hawk with his index finger. "No mail."

"Did you expect a letter?" Suigetsu asked.

"No, but…Why else would Taka be flying in like that?" Sasuke muttered. He could see his hawk pick some cornflakes that the first year next to him had spilled. "That is something I had been thinking about too…A couple of days ago when Taka brought the howlers…How come she delivered the Howlers your mum and Kushina had written?" He looked up at Karin who didn't seem to have an answer.

"Where do you end up going to when I let you out of your cage…" Sasuke said to his hawk. He stroked her head and felt something between her feathers. He frowned and leaned over his hawk, causing her to flex her wings, feeling slightly intimidated by the hovering over her. Sasuke grabbed a small blue tube that was no bigger than a pill. He looked at it, moving it to the light to have a better look.

"That is odd…" Karin noted. Even Suigetsu had stopped talking.

"What's that, a tracker?" Suigetsu asked. Sasuke carefully grabbed each end of the blue tube and pulled them apart, revealing a small, rolled up, piece of parchment. He opened it, seeing something written on it with red ink: " _Stay inside of Hogwart's premises. You're in danger,Sasuke Uchiha._ _"_

Sasuke looked around him before looking at the teacher's table. Tobirama Senju was talking to Professor Hatake. It seemed they were not trying to trick him into confessing his involvement with Naruto's break out. They would have paid closer attention otherwise.

"Well, what does it say?" Karin asked curiously.

"Uhm…" Sasuke wasn't sure if he should be saying anything. Knowing Karin, she would flip out and immediately go to the headmaster.

Suigetsu leaned in and looked at the piece of parchment.

"Probably a prank, man" Suigetsu said nonchalantly. "I bet it's one of them." He indicated to the Gryffindor table. Kiba was laughing loudly about something.

"Why?" Sasuke wondered out loud, "They don't have beef with me anymore."

Karin groaned and grabbed the piece of parchment from Sasuke's hand. She sat back down and looked at it. Her eyes widened immediately.

"A prank? You think this is a prank!" She raised her voice. "This could be an actual warning. We have to tell Kakashi or Tobirama…Or even the Headmaster!"

"Are you insane?" Suigetsu objected, "the moment you show the note, you will have to admit you were outside of Hogwarts premises. Tobirama is already on to you, this is the piece of evidence he needs to expel you."

"Whoever wrote this must have seen you when you left for the mountain tops. There could be people after you…A serial killer, or a Death Eater, or an Akatsuki member! What if it's your brother!" Karin panicked. "Whoever wrote this must have written it for a reason. They must know something, or have seen things!"

"Well you have been seeing the Grim a lot during Divination," Suigetsu noted "It could be connected."

"If you won't tell a teacher we have to tell uncle Minato. He knows what to do," Karin said.

"No way, I am not coward!" Sasuke immediately rejected the idea, "It is probably Neji. He would do anything to humiliate me."

"You might not be a coward, but you're a moron" Karin said. "Let's meet in the middle. We can't do nothing, we can't go to the headmaster" She stated. "I suggest we tell Naruto."

Sasuke started laughing.

"And what will he do?" Sasuke asked, looking amused. "Because I recall, until now, I am pretty much unbeatable when it comes to duelling. If I want somebody getting pranked, I will go to Naruto. But I need protection, and only I can protect myself. "

Karin frowned.

"Sasuke makes a good point," Suigetsu added.

"He is an idiot, I give you that. But he is the only one in Hogwarts who is powerful enough to defend you from whatever danger is out there. Anyone who isn't an authority figure." Karin said.

"It's a prank, Karin. Drop it" Sasuke said, emphasising his words.

Karin took a deep breath and ignored them through out the rest of breakfast. They headed to Duelling Club and began with some easy stretches and some attacking spells on puppets.

"Expelliarmus!" Karin said. The puppet lost the stick in its hand.

"Well done, Ms. Uzumaki," Tobirama said as he past the line of students, "your spell work is taking after your mother's" he noted before turning his face towards Sasuke. He looked at his puppet, but only saw a pile of ash where it was supposed to be.

"Mr Uchiha." Tobirama said, not sounded pleased, nor angry. "These dolls are very hard to break. However, you managed to turn one into ash."

"I take it as a complement," Sasuke smirked.

"I take it as fifty galleons gone to waste." Tobirama past the Uchiha to watch Haku Yuki, who had frozen the arms off of the puppet. Next to him was Neji Hyuuga using one of his clan's secret spells to disarm the puppet. Hinata, on the other hand, was not doing as well as her cousin was. She had troubles disarming the puppet. Her spells kept missing, causing her to lose more and more confidence. Sakura, however, disarmed the puppet skilfully. Tobirama to give her an approving nod. She reminded him of a small Tsunade.

Tobirama heard a few students laughing and he looked at the end of the line. Naruto's puppet was levitating upside down. Changing shapes from a monkey to a bra to a pair of socks. Ino, Kiba, Chouji, Tenten and Lee were all giggling, not paying attention at the assignment at all.

"Mr Uzumaki…I see you are being your usual self" Tobirama approached Naruto, who had a smug grin on his face when the puppet took the shape of Tobirama. The Professor smacked the back of the Uzumaki before standing next to Kakashi Hatake.

"You have to hand to him, it is pretty funny" Kakashi said to Tobirama.

"Not at all, neither is Uchiha destroying the training puppet," Tobirama looked displeased. Kakashi chuckled.

"Of course, he would manage to destroy one. Like he destroyed every opponent he faced so far. Who could think he looks just like his mother, but he takes after his father. Unlike Naruto, who looks just like his dad but takes after his mother."

"Such coincidence" Tobirama said uninterested. He swung his wand and all the puppet disappeared, except for the one that had turned into ash.

Kakashi clapped his hands together, getting the attention of the students.

"Puppets don't move, they don't attack or defend. It is time to partner up and try to disarm each other. Choose an opponent you think can challenge you. Not just your friends." Kakashi said, seeing a few well matched couples appear.

Naruto walked across the room and grabbed Sasuke's wrist, catching the Uchiha by surprise.

"Wanna team up?" Naruto asked with his usual kind smile on his face.

"Sure," Sasuke said, walking across from Naruto so there was some distance between them, "But know I am not going to go easy on you just because you're cute."

Naruto chuckled.

"Ha, you think I am cute, that is pretty gay" he grinned while Sasuke rolled his eyes. Both stood still, their wands pointed at one another, but neither made the first move for the first couple of seconds.

"Expelliarmus" Naruto said. Sasuke blocked the spell with his wand and moved it, a fire appeared under Naruto's shoes, forcing the boy to jumped back.

"You are playing mean!" Naruto laughed, letting the fire disappear before moving his wand. Sasuke looked up, seeing the dinosaur skeleton, hanging in the classroom, fall down. He jumped away, and made a somersault on the ground as the skeleton fell down.

"Better than I thought" Sasuke commented, getting up from the ground, "and I thought I had to hold back." Sasuke moved his wand the skeleton build itself up from the ground and roared before running right towards Naruto. The Uzumaki's first instinct was to run away or to just drop his wand and give in, if it wasn't for the fact that he knew Sasuke's speciality were illusions. He waved his wand and the illusion broke. He could hear a few people, that stopped their own duel to watch Naruto and Sasuke's, clap. He even thought he saw Tobirama smile at the corner of his eyes.

"Ha…Nice.." Sasuke said, impressed that Naruto managed to look past his illusion.

"Guess I learned something after our library sessions" he winked teasingly. Sasuke cheeks to turn red.

"Enough playing around!" Sasuke told himself, pointing his wand determinately at Naruto. A spell flew Naruto's way, he didn't know what is was since Sasuke was already using silent spells, he moved his wand in panic and shouted: "Reducto!"

A dark orange light came from Naruto's wand and Sasuke flew across the classroom, high in the air, before his head hit the ceiling. Everybody gasped and looked at the Uchiha with painful expression on their faces. Sasuke fell from the ceiling on a cupboard before rolling off to the ground.

Every student in the classroom looked terrified and didn't move when they saw Sasuke's body on the floor. He wasn't moving.

"Oh shit…" Naruto sprinted across the classroom, sliding down the floor.

"Sasuke! Sasuke! Are you alright!?" He shouted, trying to shake Sasuke awake. Tobirama pushed Naruto away while Kakashi grabbed the boy by his shoulders and tried to hold him back.

"it's alright! It's alright!" Kakashi repeated, trying to stop Naruto from fighting him. "It's not your fault, Naruto!"

Tobirama grabbed a small flask from his pocket and opened the lit, he kept it under Sasuke's nose, causing him to breath in the fume. Sasuke suddenly sat up, his eyes shut open as he gasped for air. He immediately hissed in pain, his hand holding the back of his neck. He looked around him, confused for a moment as everybody was looking at him.

"Do you remember what day it is?" Tobirama asked, seriously.

"What?" Sasuke looked confused before answered: "Sunday".

"Can you recall the last thing you remember?" Tobirama asked as he got up and dusted off his robed.

"There…" Sasuke frowned, "There was this…Orange light and…" Sasuke robbed his head, he had the worst headache ever. He suddenly felt Naruto wrap his arms around him and he fell his body fall back on the ground. He hissed in pain..

"I am so sorry!" Naruto shouted right in his ear. Like his head headache wasn't bad enough.

"I'm fine! I'm fine!" Sasuke repeated, trying to push Naruto off him ,"You're squeezing me! Get off of me!"

Naruto sat up and gave Sasuke an apologetic smile.

"I guess you won fair and square," Sasuke accepted Naruto's hand and got pulled up from the ground. He felt dizzy for a moment and leaned against Naruto, resting his head on the Uzumaki's shoulder.

"Naruto, could you escort Mr Uchiha to Lady Shizune. I think he will need some rest after that fall," Kakashi said.

"Yes, sir" Naruto supported Sasuke out of the classroom.

"I had no idea you could cast such a good 'Reducto' spell" Sasuke said, he stopped walking, feeling nauseous . "I guess Karin was right when she said you were indeed very powerful."

"She said that?" Naruto stopped walking, seeing Sasuke lean against the wall before sitting down.

"Yeah…" Sasuke said, Naruto squatting down in front of him, he looked concerned.

"You don't look so well." He noted, his hand reached for Sasuke's cheek.

"I guess that happened when your boyfriends throws you across the room" Sasuke said sarcastically, "I'm very dizzy, Naruto." Sasuke added, seeing that Naruto couldn't laugh at the joke.

"I could carry you?" Naruto suggested. Sasuke chuckled

"I am alright, I just need a second…" Sasuke said, holding his face in his hands, hoping the sensation of being in a rollercoaster would stop. He felt Naruto close in.

"Hold on.."

Sasuke wrapped his arms around Naruto, leaning his head on Naruto's shoulder.

Naruto lifted him up, bridal style.

"I told you. I could carry you," Naruto said in his usual joyful voice, Sasuke didn't argue and just kept his eyes shut. They arrived at lady Shizune, who was surprised to see Sasuke, again.

"I hope you are not making a habit out of coming here?" Shizune said, indicating for Naruto to put Sasuke down on the bed.

"There was a little accident during Duelling Club. He sort of …Flew across the room, hit the ceiling, and fell flat on the ground…" Naruto said quickly, feeling quite guilty.

"How hard did he fall?" Shizune asked, her hand had a greenish glow to it when he put it on Sasuke's forehead. "Oh dear, how are you not unconscious…" She said, extracting her hand.

"Don't tell me you were the one who got him here?" She gave Naruto a strict look. "How many times must we tell you to focus-"

"I panicked, it happened out of instinct" Naruto argued.

"You should be glad he doesn't have a broken neck." Shizune said with a strict voice. Naruto didn't say anything back when he sat down on Sasuke's bed side. Naruto pushed Sasuke's bangs out of his face before leaning in to kiss him on his forehead.

"Naruto," Sasuke opened his eyes, "When you casted that spell and there was this dark orange light coming from your wand…"

Naruto made a confirming sound.

"I..I don't how to explain it but…Everything sort of turned into slow motion and…And I saw that orange light, taking the shape of… Of a fox?"

Naruto's body froze and he didn't say anything for a while.

"Probably the concussion…" He finally answered.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13 "The Battle of Hogsmeade"

The halls were practically empty as most of the students were already down at Hogsmeade, the wizarding village nearby. Naruto was polishing the Trophy Room. He rubbed the last of them before sighing deeply. At least he finished his detention, or well…A part of it. He grabbed the basket of cleaning supplies and walked out of the room and headed to Tobirama's study. He knocked before hearing a confirming sound.

"I'm done with the Trophy Room."

Tobirama looked up from the homework assignment he was grading. A roll of parchment was levitating on his eye level, and he was wearing his reading glasses. The light was shining right at the essay, making Naruto able to see the ink through the parchment. He could recall Sasuke's handwriting. There were a few red lines here and there, but overall he could make out a 86% written on top. Of course, it didn't come as a surprise to Naruto. Sasuke was an amazing wizard and honestly one of a kind. There was yet to be a spell he couldn't cast. It made Naruto feel slightly bad, he recalled only getting insufficient marks for his homework assignments in his third year. However, he was mostly goofy instead of studying.

"Are you?" Tobirama said absentmindedly.

"What should I do next?" Naruto asked softly, not too eager to get another task.

"I don't have many chores for you at the moment. I think it is punishment enough for you to wander around the castle while all your peers are in Hogsmeade."

"Are you seriously not a Dark Lord?" Naruto muttered under his breath. He swore he saw Professor Senju smirk behind the roll of parchment. Naruto put the bucket of cleaning supplies down, before leaving and closing the door behind him. He glared over his shoulder at Tobirama's office door. He wished his eyes could magically set the office on fire. Unfortunately, he had no such abilities. Naruto looked back ahead of him and immediately came to a stop when he almost walked over a House-elf.

"Binky?!" Naruto looked surprised at the familiar face. He was the only house-elf that came out alive from the Uchiha Mansion and was officially employed in the Hogwarts kitchen. Unofficially, however, he was still loyal to his master who was none-other than, Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto's boyfriend.

"Master requested Binky to tell master Naruto-"

"Just say 'Naruto', Binky." Naruto squatted down so he was on the same level as the house-elf. He smiled kindly at Binky who was, as always, a bit of a nervous mess.

"Naruto…" Binky corrected herself, "For Naruto to come to the library. At the potion section."

Naruto's immediately smirked. He knew what the ' _Potion section_ ' was code for. It was code for making-out as he and Sasuke had been doing the past two weeks.

"Thank you, Binky" Naruto stood up and walked past the house-elf.

The library was almost empty. Naruto saw a few first and seconds years and a bunch of seventh years that were studying for their N.E.W.T's. He headed towards the potion section and saw Sasuke, he was reading a book. His bangs were tucked behind his ear and he was wearing his favourite navy hoodie paired with grey, ripped, jeans. He looked beautiful as always.

"Why are you staring?" Sasuke spoke, he didn't even look up from his book as he spoke.

"I'm not" Naruto quickly denied. It might have been a bit too early in their relationship to be overly dramatic. "I know your grade for your potions essay."

Sasuke closed the book, the sound was echoing through the library.

"86%" Naruto said, "I think so, at least."

"Damn it," Sasuke complained, opening the book again. He was frowning now. "I was so sure it was at least a 90%.mWhy does Tobirama always have to ruin everything."

"Why aren't you at Hogsmeade?" Naruto asked, leaning against the Bookshelves as he observed his boyfriend's angry face. Even mad, he was so pretty.

"I'm going to leave with Haku in an hour." Sasuke said, putting the book back in his place before focussing on Naruto. "I wanted to ask if you needed anything from the shops. Since you aren't able to go yourself. I heard Karin say you love Acid Pops. Would you like me to get you some?"

"Sasuke, that's very sweet. No pun intended."

Sasuke rolled his eyes at his.

"But why didn't you go with Irukai and Kurenai. I thought they escorted the third years to Hogsmeade each year?" Naruto seemed confused.

"Because you were still at detention." Sasuke raised an eyebrow at Naruto, "Besides, Haku says he has a faster way of getting there. Something about tunnel?"

Naruto nodded, knowing the secret passage Haku was talking about. He had let the Hufflepuff fifth year on to that passage last year.

"Speaking off leaving Hogwarts premises" Sasuke put the book back and grabbed Witch Weekly from his bag. He handed the paper to Naruto, who raised a questionable eyebrow, this all seemed to much of coincidence to not have been practiced beforehand.

Naruto looked at the front page: " _Wizard Attack. Dark Wizards Are Rising_ " He skimmed through the article before looking back at Sasuke.

"You honestly read this crap?" Naruto asked.

"No, it's mine!" Sasuke hissed, grabbing Witch Weekly back. He seemed pissed, but that wasn't unusual for him.

"I am sure the ' _seven ways of getting your skin to naturally glow'_ is a very interesting article" Naruto grinned. Sasuke couldn't laugh at this.

"Sasuke, I know you are concerned that these attacks are apparently getting closer to Hogwarts, but there is nothing to worry about. Hogwarts is the safest place on earth. Nobody is going to hurt you as long as Hashirama Senju is our headmaster." Naruto put a hand on Sasuke's shoulder. "And if he won't, I will" He winked at the Uchiha.

"Naruto," Sasuke interrupted him. He didn't look away from the books. "I'm not scared about my safety. I'm afraid about yours." Sasuke finally looked up to meet Naruto's eyes, "What if what Karin says is true? What if they are after something…Or…Someone…" He seemed deeply concerned.

"What did Karin say to you?" Naruto frowned slightly to hide the feeling of nervousness. He felt a lump in his throat and sweat pile up on his forehead. What if Karin had told Sasuke about his little secret? Well…It wasn't really little. It was a serious deal-breaker.

"Nothing except that the 'confused' wizards are probably just Death Eaters or Akatsuki members that were looking for something…" He said rather quickly.

"That's all?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah…" Sasuke said, "Why? Do you know anything more?"

"Invisibility Cloaks are very rare, they might be after that" Naruto jokes, seeing Sasuke shake his head.

"I hope you aren't using yours to get yourself in trouble. Oh yeah, that's right. I have yours." Sasuke wrapped his arms around Naruto and rested his head. "Hogwarts would be incredibly boring without you," Sasuke smiled slightly.

He could hear the sound of someone clearing their throat and he let go of Naruto and looked over his shoulder. His eyes narrowed as he looked at Kakashi Hatake.

"I had no idea there was a cuddle section here. Mind if I invite your foster dad?"

"Let it go. He is not into you!" Sasuke hissed at Kakashi.

"He never specifically said that" Kakashi leaned against the bookshelves and crossed his arms, "but my biggest question is why you aren't at Hogsmeade with the other third years?" Kakashi pointed at Sasuke. "And don't you have detention?" Kakashi pointed at Naruto.

"I wanted to get some homework done before going" Sasuke tucking his bangs behind his ear.

"Nerd" Both Kakashi and Naruto say at the same time. The Uchiha rolled his eyes and gave Naruto a quick glare.

"For your information, Professor Senju enjoys seeing me wonder around the halls not being able to go to Hogsmeade while all my friend are there, stuffing their faces with candy, right now." Naruto told Kakashi, "Jokes on him. I love scaring first years by bewitching snowman. Not to mention I could always go get some tea with Iruka."

"That is professor Umino, Naruto" Kakashi shook his head before standing up straight. "You could start by writing a better essay about Dementors." He pulled out a scroll of parchment that had a few written lines, an ink stain and what seemed like a noodle glued on it. "Just stating they are ' _the scary hooded figures'_ and ' _scream Expecto pratronum to them bitches'_ is not enough"

"You wrote that?" Sasuke looked at the parchment. "You spelled your name wrong." He turned to Naruto.

"No, 't' got smudged." Naruto said, getting a judgement look from Sasuke and Kakashi.

"No way he is going to this Wizarding College" Kakashi stated, causing Sasuke to chuckle.

"You're an idiot." Sasuke said.

A quill, bottle of ink and roll of parchment appeared out of thin air and were hovering above Naruto's head.

"You better have this on my desk by midnight" Kakashi warned him, "I don't care if you can cast a perfect patronum. I will fail you," Kakashi threatened and disappeared, leaving a thin dark cloud behind.

"I guess you won't be scaring any first years today." Sasuke cupped Naruto's cheeks. "I guess it would be fun to have class with you next year."

"See, repeating a year isn't that bad." Naruto tried to convince himself. His grades weren't looking too well at this particular moment.

"I mean sure, you share a lot of your classes with your cousin-"

Naruto made a vomiting sound by the idea alone.

"I'll rather write the stupid essay." Naruto sighed, picking up the flooding objects and put them down on the desk near the bookshelves.

"Maybe when you are done you can tell me what all about dementors and that spell you apparently can cast perfectly." Sasuke said.

Haku entered the library and looked between the bookshelves, it didn't take long to find Sasuke and Naruto. He greeted the Uzumaki politely as usual and for a moment Sasuke narrowed his eyes, believing he saw Naruto looking friendlier to Haku than to others. Naruto apparently caught on to this, since he quickly looked at the empty parchment.

"Hey Sasuke, ready to go?" Haku interrupted their conversation.

Sasuke shared a quick look with Naruto.

"Acid Pops?" Sasuke asked.

"And some Jelly Slugs, dattebayo" Naruto had a big smile on his face. Sasuke nodded and together with Haku walked away.

"Oh, oh and Cockroach Clusters!" Naruto called after them, getting sushes by the librarian immediately.

Naruto sighed annoyed and sat down on a table near the bookshelves and looked at the roll of parchment he had gotten back from Kakashi. There weren't any notes on it except for the ' _Re do, moron_ ' He looked at his old essay for about ten minutes straight.

He didn't know why he had to write essays for a subject that's purpose was to teach the students to defend themselves. Why did he have to write about dementors when he could already cast a full patronum and defend himself?

He leaned back in his chair and tried to balance the quill on his nose before he tried to see how far he could lean back before the chair would threaten to fall backwards. He then started paying attention at the small sparkles coming out of the end of his wand. He moved it around, from left to right seeing how the small, orange stars disappeared. A half hour passed liked this.

He walked between the bookshelves, eyeing the restricted section. He returned to his desk and sat down, leaning back in his chair. He turned his head to the place Sasuke had stood about an hour ago. He could see a dark green bag with a bunch of strange buttons on it, with one being Naruto's campaign button for the Welfare and Awareness of Magical Creatures.

Naruto got up and picked the bag up. Sasuke had forgotten to take it with him. It was rather heavy and for a moment he thought it might be filled with rocks. He looked around him, the library was almost empty now. It was lunch-time after all. A small smirk appeared on his face and he unzipped the bag. He was immediately met with a lot of book, and to make things worse, they weren't any of the books Naruto recalled owning in his third year. In fact, he came to the conclusion these were the books Sasuke took as 'extra' reading material.

He picked up the first book. ' _Duelling spells for advanced wizards and witches'_ he picked up another book " _The Best Attacking Spells And How They Came To Be_ " He put both of them down in front of him and saw a hint of silver under the pile of books. He grabbed the other books out and pulled his Invisibility Cloak out of the bag. He put it back in his own bag before seeing Sasuke's agenda.

Naruto picked it up and sat back down. He could see a bunch of envelopes in between the pages, so he grabbed one and opened it. A smile appeared on his face when he read the letter Obito wrote Sasuke. He mainly described his week. He asked how Sasuke was doing and how his days in Hogwarts have been. Each letter was written with so much care and love, Naruto started to become eager to meet this Obito-guy in person. He flickered through the agenda until a small piece of parchment fell on his lap.

Naruto picked it up and saw there was something scribbled on it with red-ink: " _Stay inside of Hogwart's premises. You're in danger, Sasuke Uchiha."_

He frowned, looking at the piece of parchment for several minutes. He then suddenly stood up and grabbed his cloak, leaving everything in the library as he ran outside.

"No running in the library!" He could hear the librarian shout after him. He wrapped the cloak around him and ran to The One-Eyed Witch Passage. He reached the statue of Gunhilda of Gorsemoor.

"Dissendium" Naruto said the password hastily. The hump on the witch's statue opens to reveal a short slide into a tunnel.

Naruto and Shikamaru had found this secret passage in their second year. They would often go and sneak supplies from Hogsmeade on many occasions, even though they weren't officially allowed to go.

He jogged for about half an hour before he managed to reach Honeydukes. He climbed out of the tunnel and kept the cloak tightly around him. If he were to be seen, there was no doubt his mother would for sure take him out of Hogwarts. He swallowed at first, but was quickly relieved to see Chouji and Shikamaru. He walked towards them, making sure nobody was within hearing range.

"Don't scream, it is me, Naruto" he spoke, causing Chouji and Shikamaru to both get startled, but neither screamed.

"Naruto?!" Shikamaru hissed, looking ahead of him to not seem suspicious. Even in the wizarding world it would be weird to talk to air.

"What are you doing here? If you get caught you won't see the end of it," Chouji warned.

"I know, I know, I am looking for Sasuke" Naruto whispered.

"I think I saw him with Karin and Suigetsu in Hogs Head," Chouji recalled.

"That dodgy inn?" Naruto frowned. It is like he wants to be killed.

"Is something wrong?" Shikamaru asked.

"Yeah, pretty much," Naruto sounded worried.

"We will go with you, then it won't be weird when a door suddenly opens."

"You're the best, Shikamaru" Naruto whispered, following his two friends out of the shop and into the streets. It started snowing. He told them about the note he found in Sasuke's bag. Chouji was shocked while Shikamaru was looking for a reasonable explanation.

They reached the Hog heads Inn and Chouji opened the door widely so Naruto could sneak in from behind Shikamaru. The pub was almost empty except for the innkeeper and some Hogwarts student. And there, in the corner of the pub, was Sasuke Uchiha, sitting opposite from Karin and Suigetsu. Haku, who was holding three mugs of butterbeer and some tea came to sit with the three Slytherins.

"He doesn't look in any danger" Shikamaru noted as he sat down. Naruto carefully sat next to him on the bench and Chouji took the seat in front of them. "Besides, Haku is there. Everybody knows you don't mess with the Yuki clan during winter."

"Maybe it was just a prank…" Naruto whispered.

"I bet Neji put it in there to frighten him" Chouji added, "I mean it is a coincidence he happens to be at the same place as Sasuke?"

Sasuke suddenly looked up at Shikamaru's table. Chouji and Shikamaru quickly acted casual while Naruto just froze in his seat There was no way Sasuke had heard him. The Uchiha finally looked away, causing all of them to sigh in relief.

"Really, keep your voice down" Shikamaru said. "You don't want to get jinxed for snooping in his bag now, do you?"

"I wouldn't consider it snooping…I mean…Is it?" Naruto whispered, leaned slightly on the table.

"Yes!" Both Chouji and Shikamaru said at the same time. They sat there for about twenty minutes, just observing the pub, nothing seem to happen.

"How did you even find his note?" Shikamaru whispered.

"It was…Between the letters from his foster dad …" Naruto whispered. "Sasuke also…Sort of mentioned being concerned about my wellbeing outside of Hogwarst premises after the recent attack on top of the mountains not far from here."

"The one where you two released the Hippogriff?" Shikamaru asked. He hit himself on the forehead. "He knows." He whispered.

"He can't!" Naruto argued. He put his hands over his mouth and quickly looked at Sasuke, he was frowning and he finally stood up and approached their table.

Both Gryffindors looked at Sasuke. trying to act cool while Naruto remained as quiet as possible.

"Hey…" Chouji spoke, sweating like he ran a marathon. Sasuke didn't answer and looked at Shikamaru. He put his mug with tea down on the table. It was sitting awfully close to Naruto. He figured it was not too surprising because he was supposed to be an 'empty' seat.

"Mind if I sit with your guys?" he asked. Something about the demanding way he spoke made a Chouji almost tremble.

"I do" Shikamaru said, "I'm having a private conversation.". Karin walked up and stood next to Sasuke, Suigetsu followed. Sasuke looked back at Chouji.

"It's a pity." Sasuke said, leaning on the table, "I thought we were getting along these past weeks. Besides, aren't we all friends of Naruto?"

Chouji swallowed loudly

"Speaking of Naruto…It really does suck he isn't allowed to visit Hogsmeade. Well, at first I thought it was just a single punishment for breaking the rules. However, after reading about the attack not far from here…I was starting to think, they might have banned him from visiting Hogsmeade for a very good reason. Maybe … For his own safety or…The safety of wizarding world?"

His eyes drifted off from Shikamaru to the empty seat Naruto was sitting in. The Uzumaki was trying his best not to give in. There was a slight chance Sasuke was bluffing.

"Why would you think that?" Shikamaru asked, "Perhaps they are after you?"

Sasuke frowned at his words.

"I mean…Your brother must have kept you alive for some reason? Perhaps he is collecting?"

"Maybe….Yet it is so strange. You all were caught near the Forbidden forest and he was the only one who got banned from going to Hogsmeade." Sasuke sighed deeply and stood up straight, but before he did. His hand hit his mug and it fell right in the empty seat. And instead of the -now- lukewarm liquid falling on the wooden bench, it fell right on Naruto's invisible lap before rolling off under the table, where the glass shattered. Sasuke looked at the empty seat and Naruto stayed quiet for a moment. He was busted and he knew it.

"Su..Surprise?" Naruto finally spoke. "How did you find out?!"

"I was looking outside the window and saw your friends walk towards the inn. However, there were appearing 2 random sets of footprints in the snow and there is only one person I know who had a cloak that can turn him invisible. I remembered leaving my bag at the library and knowing you…You probably did everything except re-writing your essay, meaning you would easily grab the cloak back and come here."

"Also we could hear your voice from across the bar." Karin added.

"How could you come here? Do you want to be expelled? What if Tobirama is on to?" Sasuke asked pissed.

"Not to mention how reckless you are being knowing what is happening all around you!" Karin hissed, she pushed Sasuke slightly away. "I am going to tell Uncle Minato!"

"Yeah you do that, will you tell him about the note too?" Naruto said frustrated.

Karin stopped talking and looked at Sasuke.

"You went through my letters?" The Uchiha asked, narrowing his eyes. "You literally invaded my privacy."

"Don't make me seem like the bad guy. I care about you that's why I am here." Naruto defended himself.

"That's so sweet…" Haku spoke. He got an annoyed look from both Karin and Sasuke but he didn't budge. "He just wanted to protect Sasuke."

"I don't need protection. You do," Sasuke said angrily. Naruto felt a lump in his throat again. He wanted to plain up ask if Sasuke knew, but at the current moment he wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer to that. However…Him still staying together with Naruto -despite this knowledge- should've been a good sign.

"Just go back to Hogwarts before Tobirama figures out you are gone" Sasuke said, "You don't want to be in more trouble than you already are."

"Sasuke…"

"That includes with me. Don't go snooping around in my stuff ever again!" Sasuke hissed annoyed, "I can take care of myself." He turned around and headed back to his table. He waved his wand behind him, the mug ,that had fallen on the ground, repaired itself and flew back towards the bar where the Innkeeper filled it with another batch of hot tea before sending it flooding back.

"He is top of our class," Karin added before leaning in ,"and you shouldn't be putting the entire wizarding community at risk" she whispered before following Sasuke.

"I'm just standing here because I didn't want to be left out" Suigetsu said before heading back. Haku grabbed a chair and sat down with the Gryffindors.

"That went bad for you," Haku admitted, "I think what you were trying to do is very noble, if not sweet."

"You are the only one," Naruto whispered. "Sasuke doesn't seem to think that."

"He is the best in our duelling club. Doesn't that mean he really does not need protecting?" Chouji voiced his thoughts out loud.

"Hey, I knocked him out with one spell!" Naruto reminded them.

"But that wasn't really your magic, wasn't it?" Shikamaru whispered, looking up from the wooden table. Naruto bit down his lip and looked at his lap.

"A person is able to become truly strong when they wish to protect someone they cherish," Haku said as he got up from his seat, "I believe you will become a very powerful wizard one day, Naruto."

"What makes you think that?" Naruto asked, looking rather annoyed by the whole situation. He came to make sure his boyfriend wasn't in danger. He ended up getting scolded by him and now his dad will probably get a letter from his cousin telling him about Naruto's reckless behaviour. All of this for nothing.

Haku leaned on the table and whispered: "Because I think you have found the person you wish to protect the most." Naruto's cheek heated up slightly before looking over at his angry boyfriend, holding a steaming hot mug of tea.

"I think he will realize that when he puts his pride a little on the side," Haku added. "He did spend a lot of time in a sweet shop for somebody who doesn't like candy."

"He did?" Naruto had a small grin on his face. He looked over at Sasuke, he could see big bag of Honeydukes under the table.

The door of the Inn got kicked open and two hooded figures stepped inside. One of them marched towards the bar while the other slowly walked behind him. The man was huge and broad. His head nearly touched the low hanging lamp.

"Fucking nothing!" The smaller man sighed once he sat down on a stool. "I can't believe that fucking bitch was right when the fucking told us not to bother hitting up this fucking dump!"

"I know it's here…The dots connect.." The bigger man said with a low, scary voice. He looked around the pub, his eyes catching the table of Gryffindors. He, quickly looked away to the one the Slytherin Trio were sitting at. The man's eyes widened when they locked on the Uchiha's face. He grinned and turned his head back in front of him.

"What ya fucking grinning about, fucking psycho!" The smaller man grabbed a shot of fire whisky and gulped it down. He pushed the hood off his head, revealing his medium-length grey hair that was slicked back. The man had distinctive purple eyes. Nobody looked up at the two. It was a very normal for Hogshead inn to have rather shady people entering this building.

"We might have lost the trail of the jinchuriki, but I got something that could compromise for that. Something that can earn us…A lot of money.." The big man said, indicating to the table in the corner. The man with the grey hair eagerly turned his head.

"It is a fucking mini-Raven!" He hissed, "The resemblance is fucking ridiculous!"

"Nothing around but a bunch of students and a bloody innkeeper. It's like taking candy from a baby. We go in, grab the eyes, we go out."

"Are you fucking thick in the head?!" The man with the purple eyes got up from his seat, "Imagine Raven when we cut him open right in front of him. Who would keep their little brother alive after slaughtering in an entire clan? There must be something about him."

The other man groaned, but didn't look surprised when his partner walked towards the Slytherin Trio.

"That is shady…" Naruto whispered, seeing Haku and Chouji both stare at the stranger that was standing in front the Slytherin Trio. However, Shikamaru had his eyes clued on the guy at the bar.

"He might just be playing around…Scaring students? There is no need to get physical," Haku whispered. Naruto was already holding his wand.

"No…" Naruto whispered under his breath.

"Hogwarts Students, eh?" The man put a hand on the table, catching the attention of both Karin, Suigetsu and Sasuke. "You guys do good at school?" He had this big grin on his face.

"I would say we are doing fine…" Suigetsu muttered, not sure what to say or do.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Hidan. What's your name, cutie?" It was almost like the man was trying to charm the Uchiha. He leaned in, supporting his weight on his arm.

"None-of-your." Sasuke said, " None-of-your- business" he turned his eyes back at his cup of tea.

"That is very rude. Haven't you been taught any fucking manners?" The man looked amused.

By his sudden swearing both Karin and Suigetsu looked scared.

"Perhaps that is what happens when you are the only one of your family left?"

Hidan got Sasuke's attention.

"Oh yes, it is very clear you are an Uchiha. Midnight black hair, Onyx eyes…" He reached his hand towards Sasuke's face to stroke his cheek. Sasuke moved his head away.

"Fair skin…" Hidan smirked.

"He is 13, you pervert!" Karin hissed. Hidan looked over at her.

"Red hair, loud and overly temperamental…You must be an Uzumaki?" He raised an eyebrow.

"You two should watch out, lots of bounty hunters waiting for rewards." He looked at Karin, "I bet the Uzumakis will give everything of their fortune to get their little girl back." He looked back at Sasuke, "Unfortunate dead people can't pay ransom. However, you are not truly the last Uchiha. Did you know?"

"Aren't I…" Sasuke tried to stay calm. He put his mug down.

"Oh dear…You don't know? You have a bloody fucking brother. The one who slaughtered your entire family. He's walking around giving commands like a fucking bossy bitch he is. Ever met him?" Hidan asked, "An Itachi Uchiha?"

Sasuke stayed quiet for a second.

"No…"

Hidan was about to say something, but he screamed in agony when Sasuke grabbed the fork on the table and stuck it right in the man's hand so he was pinned to the table. Before Hidan could reach for his wand, Karin grabbed Sasuke's hot tea mug and splashed the content on his face.

"Nobody calls my brother by his name!" Sasuke shouted,kicking his chair back and grabbing his wand, "You're from the Akatsuki!"

The man that was sitting at the bar jumped up from the stool and grabbed his wand. He pointed it at Sasuke and was about to curse him. Naruto quickly got on his feet.

"Reducto!" an orange flash came out of his wand and the big man flew across the room and fell straight through the window.

A few students were screaming and running out of the pub.

"THERE! HE IS THERE!" He could hear the heavy voice of the man shout as he got up. He was so big, the reducto didn't seem to have affected him as well as Naruto hoped.

Hidan pulled the fork out of his hand and angrily turned around. He grabbed a scroll from his pocket and rolled it open. A triple-Bladed Scythe appeared out of thin air. He grabbed it by the chain and threw it right towards the direction Naruto had casted his spell. The Uzumaki jumped away, his invisibility cloak fell off his head, revealing his face.

"Those marks on his face! Kakazu you were right that is him!" Hidan shouted, part of his face was red from the hot tea, but it didn't keep him from feeling he was the luckiest person alive. The Jinchuriki was finally found, and he was just a teenage boy.

"Get out of my fucking way!" Hidan shouted, throwing the scythe again, hoping to hit Naruto, but he casted a protection spell, shielding him from the blade. Right before Hidan could pull his weapon back Karin pulled her wand out and casted a spell, causing chains to fly out of her own wand and wrap around Hidan's weapon.

"Naruto! Run!" She shouted, struggling. Suigetsu grabbed Karin by the middle and did everything within his power to keep Hidan from pulling his weapon back. They didn't hold their own for long as they got swung around to the other side of the inn while Hidan retracted his weapon, laughing at their weak attempt.

"I've never crossed a weak bloody Uzumaki!" Hidan shouted. The ground under Hidan suddenly sunk in. He threw his scythe at the ceiling and tried to pull himself out of the hole, but he felt a force, pulling him down. He turned his head over at Sasuke.

"Fucking Uchihas!" Hidan hissed, he shut his eyes and waved his wand around, breaking the illusion. He found himself back on the ground, but was then pushed to his side when three knives were thrown at his dominant arm. He hissed painfully. He pulled the knives out, throwing them on the floor.

"You wanna fucking play, little boy?!" Hidan shouted at Sasuke. He threw his Scythe and Sasuke was about to be hit if it weren't for the table that suddenly got pushed in front of him, taking the hit of the weapon instead of him. Sasuke quickly turned his head to Naruto. Who had used the "depulso" spell to protect Sasuke from the weapon.

"Glacius!" Haku shouted the scythe froze and Neji casted one of his clan's secret charms, causing the Scythe to break in a hundred pieces.

"FUCK YOU!" Hidan hissed, his deadly curse missing Haku by an inch.

"Hidan…" The low and heavy voice was heard. Kakuzu's cloak was torn off him and he pulled a body across the dirty floor that was unconscious, if not dead. They quickly recognised the Innkeeper who was keeping Kakuzu at bay while the students were defending themselves from Hidan.

Sasuke had never seen anybody quite like Kakuzu. His eyes had an unusual colouring: green irides, no pupils and red sclerae. His mouth was stitched together at the edges and across his entire torso were this grey stitches that were horribly done. Everything about his screamed dangerous, dark magic.

"Stop fooling around and capture the boy" Kakuzu said and threw the body of the innkeeper so hard, it fell right on the bar table. There was a moment of silence when most of student looked in horror at the adult body just lying there.

"Let this be a warning…" The man pointed his finger at Naruto, "We only want the boy."

All eyes were on Naruto. Nobody said a word.

"It…It is alright.." Naruto finally broke the silence, he put his hands in the air and dropped his wand on the floor "You can take me, just leave them alone!"

The Inn was already a big mess. Tables and glasses were scattered all around. The windows and door were both broken down. Karin and Suigetsu were bleeding from the hit they took. Haku almost got a deadly curse thrown at his head.

"Naruto, think about what you are doing. You are bringing the entire wizarding community at risk" Shikamaru whispered.

"This is not your sacrifice to make," Chouji added in a soft whisper.

"I won't have anybody die for me!" Naruto hissed, taking a couple of steps forwards.

"Wise choice" Kakuzu said. Naruto walked towards them, passing Neji and Haku who both stood frozen.

"I am sorry, Sasuke…" Naruto said, looking up to meet Sasuke's eyes. Although he quickly wished he hadn't. Sasuke had a sorrowful expression in his face and tears were welling up in the corners of eyes. He walked past the Uchiha, but stood still for a second.

"I love you, Sasuke. I really do." Naruto whispered.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N:** **"The Hog's Head Inn is a slightly dodgy inn and pub in the all wizarding village of Hogsmeade. It is located one or two streets off of the High Street..." -Harry Potter Wikia**

 **Chapter 14 "Itachi Uchiha"**

"I'm sorry, Sasuke" Naruto spoke when his eyes locked with the Uchiha's. Sasuke stood frozen in his spot. He couldn't believe this was happening to them...To him. The feeling of weakness and desperation took over him. There was nothing he was capable of doing; there was no way he could save Naruto. Every minute in the library; every moment at duelling club; every second at Hogwarts had been for nothing. He wasn't strong enough to fight the Akatsuki; he wasn't strong enough to protect his boyfriend.

Naruto walked passed him, but paused for a mere second to whisper: "I love you, Sasuke. I really do…"

The words caused everything around the Uchiha to disappear. He could hear his own heartbeat while his chest felt heavy; his heart was going fast and loud, pumping Adrenaline through his veins.

" _No. Not again. I lost everything once. I can't...I can't bear to lose everything again!_ "

The thoughts repeated through Sasuke's head. A tear escaped the corner of his eye. The grip around his wand tightened and he gritted his teeth. His body was shaking out of anger...Out of hatred.

"No!" He suddenly shouted out.

All eyes turned on him.

"I won't lose you!" Sasuke cried out when he looked at Naruto.

His iris were scarlet with three tomeo surrounding his pupil; his hand that was holding his wand suddenly pulled the Uchiha's arm along as it suddenly released a big fire that took the shape of a basilisk. It went straight for Hidan and Kakuzu and dived towards the ground, forming a prison of big flames around the two Akatsuki members.

Naruto made a backwards somersault, dodging the fallen lamp by an inch. The big flames set fire to the roof of the inn and it spread fast over the wood.

"Naruto, catch!" Karin shouted, throwing Naruto's wand back to him.

"Run everybody! Run!" Shikamaru shouted. He grabbed Karin and Suigetsu and pulled them through the broken window.

"Go! Go! Go!"

Naruto felt Sasuke grab his hand as they followed the others. He looked over his shoulder at the burning inn before turning his head to Sasuke. They ran as fast as the could, but their luck seem to quickly run out quickly. The two akatsuki members appeared out of thin air right in front of them. Hidan was coughing and Kakuzu had a few burned patches of skin and looked furious.

"Kill them!" Kakuze roared out.

The stitches around his body broke open, revealing big metal cables. One was aimed right for the Uchiha's eyes. Sasuke could see the cable coming towards his face, and he wanted to dodge it quickly. However, he felt his body wasn't capable of keeping up with what his mind wanted. His enhanced perception was throwing off his timing, causing him to overstress his body from trying to keep up with the increased reaction time. He felt his ankle twist and his body fall on the snow. He looked scared at the cable only few inches away from his eyes, that was about to blind him forever.

"Diffindo!" The cable got cut in two. A part of it fell on the snow right in front of the Uchiha. Kakuzu retracted the rest. Sasuke looked up and to his relieve he saw Naruto, standing in front of him, defending him from the attacking spells that were thrown his way.

"Sasuke!" Karin ran towards him.

"My ankle" Sasuke said hastily, looking at Naruto every two seconds. Karin grabbed her wand and whispered a healing spell. A green glow appeared on the end of her wand and Sasuke could feel his ankle warm up. He looked up from his ankle to Naruto and then to Neji and Haku that were attacking Hidan. Suigetsu and Chouji attacked Kakuzu from the sides, but the Akatsuki member was a one man army. Shikamaru attacked from behind, but all spells were getting blocked by the metal cables.

"Sasuke…We have to get Naruto out of here." Karin said while she looked over her shoulder.

"I know," Sasuke quickly said while he got up. "Try staying in the back. You are the only one of us who is good at healing magic."

Karin nodded and Sasuke ran to Naruto's aid and blocked a spell that almost hit the jinchuriki in the head. Naruto quickly looked at Sasuke from the corner of his eyes. Their eyes met for second and to Sasuke's surprise Naruto had a big grin on his face.

"You activated your Sharingan!" Naruto exclaimed. Before the Uchiha could say anything, they both had to jump to a separate direction as Kakuzu's tendril tried to land a hit on the both of them.

Haku performed a freezing spell, causing the two thick tendrils to become icicles. Naruto quickly cut the them off and Sasuke levitated them in the air before shooting them back at Kakuzu. Both icicles missed Kakuzu. The broad man quickly turned his head to his partner in crime, seeing both icicles piercing him through the abdomen. They were never meant to hit Kakuzu in the first place. They were after Hidan the entire time.

Blood was dripping on the snow and Neji and Haku both looked horrified at the sight of the impaired Hidan. What came next was beyond anything they had ever seen. The man pushed the icicle out of him and used the blood dripping on his feet to draw a circle with an upside down triangle. His flesh was turning black with white spots that formed a skeleton. The man resembled a Grim Reaper and suddenly his weapon of choice made a lot of sense. He laughed, whipping the blood off his mouth.

"Dark magic…" Neji whispered. Feeling his body tremble. Haku looked over at Sasuke who also seemed to be at a lost of words.

One of Kakuzu's tendrils attacked Chouji and Suigetsu. It wrapped itself around their necks, pulling them up in the air. Their faces turned blue.

"Let them go!" Shikamaru shouted in desperation. He pushed his wand into the snow and his shadow suddenly connected with that of Kakuzu, who lost all control of his body. Chouji and Suigetsu fell on the ground. Suigetsu gasped for air and got on his hands and knees, he looked over at Chouji who wasn't breathing.

"Karin!" Suigetsu shouted with a hoarse voice.

Karin ran towards them, but was spotted by Hidan. He threw a forbidden curse at her. Naruto could see the green light make its way towards his cousin. He ran the short distance between them and pushed her on the snow. The curse just missed her head and hit one of the shop's windows instead. The glass shattered over the two Uzumakis. Naruto covered Karin from it.

When Hidan was too occupied defending himself from the spells flying his way. Naruto got off his cousin, trying to pull her up, but Karin showed some resistance.

"You're bleeding!" Karin shouted, her eyes tearing up as she looked at her cousin.

"I'm fine. Go to Chouji!" Naruto told her. Karin hesitated for a second, but did as she was told and Naruto looked over at Sasuke. He was dodging every one of Hidan's spells skilfully. He turned at Shikamaru who was sweating and doing everything he could to keep Kakuzu from moving, but he was having a hard time.

The spell broke and Shikamaru fell on the snow, panting heavily. Ice magically appeared under Kakuzu's feet, freezing him to the ground. Naruto looked over at Haku.

Neji ran towards Kakuzu. His Byakugan activated. He poked Kakuzu in a few places in his chest before being blown away with a big blast. But whatever Neji did seem to have worked. The cables that came out of his body now dropped to the floor and he seemed to be no longer able to move them.

"Incarcerous!" Naruto shouted, taking the opportunity to take the dark wizard out. A rope wrapped itself around Kakuzu's torso, making him unable to move. Right when he was on the ground, struggling against the rope. Suigetsu, Shikamaru, Neji and Naruto all casted a stunning spell, hitting the Akatsuki member right in the chest. Kakuzu's body was shaking and he seemed immobile.

"HAKU NOW!" Naruto bellowed. He could see the Hufflepuff fifth year aim his wand and perform his signature spell.

"GLACIOUS!" Haku cried out. Ice appeared from all around Kakuzu and in a matter of seconds, he was frozen in an iceberg.

"Great job, Naruto!" Haku shouted, pleased with the ice sculpture of the Akatsuki member.

"Right back at ya!" Naruto stuck his thumb up. The feeling of victory soon left them when they were reminded of the remaining Akatsuki member.

"Expelliarmus!" Hidan shouted.

Naruto immediately turned his head to Sasuke and Hidan. Sasuke's wand fell right out of his hand before Hidan grabbed him by throat and pushed his body against a wall. Sasuke grabbed Hidan's wrist with both his hands trying to get loose. Hidan grinned sadistically, holding his wand up with his free hand.

"Avada-"

"Expelliarmus!" Naruto shouted as he ran towards Sasuke. He was quite the distance away from the two, but he was desperate to do something. The blast of the spell was bigger than usual and it took a blood orange shade instead of the usual scarlet. It reached the two and disarmed Hidan.

Hidan's wand fell right out of his hand, he looked at his free hand and before he knew it he got kicked in the crotch by the Uchiha. He groaned in pain, falling through his knees. Sasuke fell on his feet and with all his might he kicked Hidan right in the head, causing his entire neck to break. Hidan fell onto the ground. His neck was bend in a terrifying way. Most people would be dead, but he was immortal with his dark magic.

"You fucking bitch!" Hidan shouted in agony. He seemed to be unable to move.

Sasuke turned his head to Naruto who seemed just as relieved for a second as Sasuke had been. He stopped running and was panting slightly as he looked relieved at Sasuke. They had fought off two Akatsuki members; the dark lord's most trusted generals. Sasuke was about to run the remaining distance to Naruto, kiss him and drag him back to Hogwarts. However, he suddenly saw Naruto's eyes look frightened and shocked. He seemed petrified. There was a dark silence in the air. Haku's eyes were widened and Karin gasped, covering her mouth with both her hands.

Sasuke slowly turned his head to the direction everybody seemed to be staring at. There, standing barley two meters away from him, was a young men with onyx eyes under which were long, pronounced tear-troughs. He had black hair that was pulled back in a neat ponytail and his face was framed with centre-parted bangs that extended to his chin. He was dressed in all black. His long and slender frame was well accentuated. Around his right leg was a wand holder; his hand wasn't even near it. The man appeared calm, but it only gave him a more dangerous vibe.

Sasuke didn't say anything. He kept observing the man that bend down to pick up his wand. He examined it for a couple of seconds before looking up at Sasuke.

"Long time no see, little brother" a small grin spread across Itachi Uchiha's lips.

"Little…Brother?" Sasuke whispered, the words echoing through his head, "Itachi".

Itachi held the wand in his right hand, holding it up to the light to have a clear look at it.

"Phoenix feature, Yew wood and a less than 13 inches. Your wand style takes after mother's, and you share the same wood as father." He turned his head from the wand to Sasuke, "The core, however, I think you got that from me."

Itachi threw the wand to Sasuke. He seemed to be quite knowledgeable. But of course, he was a Ravenclaw. What pissed the younger Uchiha off was his audacity to compare the two.

"Very well, you actually remembered came to my attention you had lost your memories" Itachi didn't even bother to look at Sasuke any more. He just walked towards Hidan and looked at him lying in the snow. Itachi shook his head, pissing Hidan off immensely.

"Fucking bitch! What are you fucking smiling for!" Hidan hissed, there was still a bend in his neck.

"I'm amused a bunch of children were capable of taking you two down." He looked over at Kakuzu, stuck in ice. "You both are pathetic." he eyed Naruto quickly, but didn't batch him a second look.

"I must say," Itachi started, "You have gotten quite handsome, little brother. A birdie told me you have been sorted into Slytherin-"

"Why?" Sasuke interrupted Itachi, "why did you kill your entire family?... **Our** entire family!" Nothing about the guy in front of him screamed psychopath or dark. He seemed so typical. He felt so trustworthy and familiar. It confused Sasuke.

"because...Sasuke...They are blood-traitors." He spoke nonchalant."I was willing to seek the limited of my powers, but after killing the strongest wizarding clan…I still haven't quite found it."

"You killed mom and dad just to see where your limits laid…What kind of monster are you?"

Itachi smiled, although it were only his lips tat were curved up. His eyes were dull and empty.

"This one," he said, indicating to himself.

"Then why not kill me?! Why did you keep me alive?!" Sasuke shouted. This question has been bugging him from the moment he heard about his past.

"Ha…I didn't kill you because it was too easy. I hoped for you to grow-up hating me so much you would actually have the motivation to grow stronger and try killing me. I was wrong. You are so weak; all it took was one spell to make you forget everything and live like a filthy muggle. You were never truly an Uchiha."

"Shut up! He is more of an Uchiha than you could ever be! He is the greatest wizard I know!" Naruto shouted.

"Then you obviously haven't met a lot of powerful wizards" Itachi told Naruto.

Hidan stood up from the snow, he used his hands to push his neck back in its rightful position. Kakuzu broke out of the ice and simply dusted off his shoulder. It seemed nothing the Hogwarts students had done had any permanent effect on them.

"I have no use for you, Sasuke" Itachi stated, "simply hand us the boy and we will be on our way. You live to face me another day."

"I don't need to hide from you any more," Sasuke held his wand in front of him. Hidan and Kakuzu were both ready to attack him. However, neither of them were allowed. Itachi put his hand up, causing Hidan to scoff and Kakuzu to simply look at Neji. He was capable of moving the cables once again and it seemed he wanted revenge.

"Leave my little brother to me. This is a family matter after all," Itachi said.

The other two disappeared from Itachi's side and Sasuke could see Haku and Naruto fighting Hidan while Shikamaru, Neji and Suigetsu were going against Kakuzu. Karin was standing next to Chouji, he was finally up again, but his face was still pale and he was leaning against Karin who seemed to have a hard time supporting him.

Sasuke looked back at Itachi. His brother was just standing there, his hand wasn't even reaching for his wand.

"Let me see what you have been taught so far."

Sasuke gritted his teeth and swung his wand while shouting : "Sectumsempra!" He was not going to hold back against a murder. If Itachi wants Sasuke to kill him, he was going to.

Itachi physically dodged the spell with ease.

Sasuke continued to attack, but none of his spells seem to even come close to hitting his brother. Itachi did a cartwheel and got on his feet before he ran up to Sasuke. He moved fast and effortless. Sasuke just managed to block his kick, using his arms. It took a great effort even with his Sharingan to keep up with Itachi's movements, but what pissed him off most was that the man wasn't even using magic to get to him.

Sasuke got kicked in the stomach and rolled over the ground. He quickly got up. Itachi's hadn't even broken out in a sweat. He felt anger; he felt pissed and his judgement started to get cloudy. He was ready to just run back in and do everything within his power to land a hit on the stupid psycho face of his brother. However, he could hear Obito's voice echo in his head.

" _Anger is the biggest enemy of control…_ " He reminded himself.

Sasuke got up, taking a deep breath. Itachi might have been faster and more experienced than him. He just had to be smarter. Sasuke tightened the grip around his wand. The man hadn't even moved yet and Sasuke could slowly see his body disappear. He tried to focus, looking around him. There, right next to him he could see Itachi appear.

"Reducto!"

Itachi got blasted away, but disappeared mid-air and appeared again back on the ground.

Sasuke aimed a curse towards Itachi and for a moment he swore he had him, but his hand suddenly got jerked away by his own wand and his spell missed his brother by a hair. Sasuke looked baffled at his wand. Many questions appeared in his head. Why did his wand disobey him? Why didn't it want to curse Itachi?

"I'm surprised, as a child you never seem to be able to hold your temper."

Itachi took a deep breath and he breathed out a huge fire. It moved around Sasuke and creating a barrier that was narrowing in on him.

"But then again. You were never any good at combat or magic!" He could hear Itachi provoke him. Sasuke gritted his teeth, sweat piled up on his forehead from the heat of the big flames. He looked at them spiralling around him, coming closer and closer to him. Sasuke knew he had to make his escape or else he would be burned alive.

" _Timing…Timing.._ " Sasuke thought of what Tobirama had taught him. He looking at the fire closing in on him. he moved his wand at the right time and place and managed to redirected the flames at Itachi.

Itachi looked surprised and it seemed he hadn't anticipated the redirection of his spell. He finally grabbed his wand and quickly produced water spell that managed to block the fire. The water evaporated, creating a big cloud.

This was the opportunity Sasuke had been waiting for.

"Incarcerous!" A rope flew around and hit Itachi, wrapping itself around the man's torso and causing him to fall in the snow. Sasuke used this opportunity to run away. The fog that was created from the evaporating water was thick enough to hide almost everybody in and blinding most of , Sasuke had the advantage of his Sharingan.

"Augementi!" Sasuke casted as he could see Hidan in front of him, duelling Naruto and Haku.

Haku took the moment and froze the water, causing Hidan to be stuck in ice.

"Sasuke!" Naruto shouted, seeing his boyfriend. The Gryffindor had a busted lip from the fight, but other than that he seemed good.

"Run! " Sasuke shouted, grabbing Naruto's and Haku's hand and pulled them with him.

"What happened with your brother?!" Naruto shouted.

"I couldn't have won that fight!" Sasuke admitted, "I was merely looking for an opening to get us all out of here!" Sasuke bit down his lip. He hated to admit it. But it seemed everything Tobirama had taught him came to use. Especially the many times he had pointed out how cocky Sasuke had been through-out duelling club.

"What is the plan, Sasuke?" Haku asked.

"Grab the others and go to Honeydukes. There we can make use of the secret passage back to Hogwarts. We should encounter help on the way" Sasuke explained.

"Wait, Karin is still in there!" Naruto shouted, looking over his shoulder.

"There!" Haku pointed ahead of him, seeing the red, characteristic hair.

"I knew the moment the fog appeared you wanted to use it as a cover" Karin immediately said when she saw Sasuke, Naruto and Haku coming their way.

"The Byakugan can see right through everything. It was no problem grabbing the others and getting out." Neji added.

"Thank God you are safe!" Naruto took a mere second to hug his cousin tightly before holding her by her hand as they ran towards Honeydukes.

They entered the shop, panting heavily. In Honeydukes two of their professors gave them concerned looks as did the shopkeepers and a few fellow students.

"Naruto!" Iruka got up from his chair. He looked mad, but also very concerned.

"Professor! There a three Akatsuki members after us!" Karin shouted. People in the store gasped in shock.

"Evacuate, quickly. Everybody!" Iruka shouted out immediately believing the students.

"There is a tunnel. It is safer for everybody to go through there" Haku suggested, giving up the secret passage for the safety of his fellow students. He and Neji helped guiding each student in while the shopkeepers grabbed their wands together with the two professors.

"Quickly go to the headmaster and get back-up! We will hold them off" Iruka said determined while one of the shopkeepers was casting a protection spell and the other grabbed the fastest owl and messages the Ministry of Magic.

"We have to go, now" Sasuke warned, grabbing Naruto's arm.

"Iruka, you can't hold them off! There are three of them! They are S-rank criminals!" Naruto argued.

"Go to Hogwarts, Naruto! I'm your professor and you shall listen to me!" Iruka yelled at him.

"Naruto, we have to go" Sasuke grabbed his boyfriend's arm tighter and tried to pull him with him.

"But.."

"Have faith, he is a Hogwarts professor. He can stand his own!" Shikamaru shouted at Naruto.

Naruto looked over his shoulder at his teacher, he gritted his teeth before going in the secret passage. Sasuke and Haku quickly followed after them. Before Sasuke could hide the passage behind him he could see the door and windows break open and the three Akatsuki members enter. He saw few spells getting thrown around before hiding the passage with the strongest illusion he managed to cast.

"They're in?" Haku asked. Sasuke looked at Naruto before looking at Haku. He nodded slowly.

"We have to hurry" Shikamaru reminded them. He held his wand up, creating a small light to lighten up their pathway. They ran trough the tunnel, hearing the sounds of battle behind them. Their professors seem to stand their own against the Akatsuki. For some time, it seemed.

Haku came to a stop and Neji, who was behind him, automatically stopped too. They had made it about halfway through the tunnel by now.

"Sasuke…" Haku said, the Uchiha stopped and looked over his shoulder at his friend. He immediately noted what Haku meant. There was a sudden silence. No sounds of breaking glass. No shouting of spells. Just mere silence.

"Do you think...They died?" Neji whispered. The others came to a stop too, looking behind them at three students a few meters behind them.

"You think they found the secret passage?" Sasuke whispered, looking at the darkness. Neji turned his head and activated his Byakugan. He looked back at Sasuke and Neji. His silence said enough. It didn't come as too much of a surprise, after all his strongest illusion spell wasn't going to fool a fellow Uchiha, especially not his brother.

"Come on you three, we have to go!" Naruto said.

"How far are they?" Sasuke whispered to Neji.

"I think at this pace…they will definitely catch up to us" Neji said.

"We can't have them get to Naruto…" Sasuke looked at his boyfriend. At the moment their eyes locked, Naruto knew something was wrong.

"What's going on…What's happening?!" Naruto asked wary.

Karin's eyes widened, sensing the presence of the Akatsuki getting nearer, she looked at Sasuke.

"I'm going to hold them off" Sasuke spoke up, looking at Karin.

"I'm with you!" Haku added determined, putting a hand on Sasuke's shoulder. Neji gave a confirming nod and remained standing behind Sasuke and Haku.

Naruto frowned.

"I won't let you face them alone, Sasuke!" Naruto shouted. "We could barley take them with the eight of us. There is no way you three can hold them on your own!"

"You'll have to, Naruto!" Sasuke said in frustration, "I know what you are!"

Naruto looked aghast.

"I know you are the jinchuriki of the nine-tails. I knew it for a while now. I can't have them capture you. Not only because it would bring the entire wizarding community in danger…But...Because…I love you." Sasuke voice was trembling slightly.

Speaking from the heart was something he often avoided at all cost. The only thing he managed to express clearly was anger. But he knew he had to tell Naruto how he felt. He was aware he might not have another chance to.

"That's why I need you to promise me you will go to Hogwarts and stay there…" Sasuke said, holding back his emotions to appear strong. However, the truth was that he felt weaker than ever before.

"I can't do that! Sasuke! If we run we can make it, I am sure of it!"

"I can't take that risk!" Sasuke shouted. He looked at the others, "You guys have to promise you will do everything within your powers to protect him. Everything to get him to Hogwarts." Sasuke held his wand up and aimed it at the ground between him and Naruto.

"Sasuke, I'm right here!" Naruto cried out, "Don't do this! Put your wand down! We can face them together, I know we can!" Naruto shouted, desperately. For the first time in Sasuke's live. He could see tears well up in Naruto's eyes.

"DON'T DO THIS!" He begged. The tears were rolling over his scarred cheeks.

Sasuke closed his eyes, unable to look Naruto in the eyes.

"Bombara maxima" Sasuke whispered. An explosion was heard and the tunnel collapsed between the two. Neji and Haku grabbed Sasuke by the arms and pulled him away. The spell was even bigger than Sasuke had intended it to be. The three fell back and Sasuke opened his eyes seeing a big barrier of boulders separating him from Naruto.

"SASUKEEEEHH!" Naruto shouted, hoping Sasuke could hear him.

"Naruto, we have to go!" Karin's voice was shaking. Sasuke knew she was talking through her tears.

"NO! NO!" Naruto cried out.

"I'm sorry, Naruto! I have to do this!" Shikamaru bit down his lip. He held a small rock in his hand and hit Naruto on the side of the head. The boy fell forward and his head was bleeding before it hit the ground. Chouji and Suigetsu gasped.

"We can't have the Kyuubi fall in the Akatsuki's hands!" Shikamaru shouted. He grabbed Naruto's arm and pulled his unconscious body up.

Chouji quickly came to aid. He threw Naruto over his shoulder. He was the only one amongst them strong enough to carry Naruto and keep running.

"Sasuke! Haku!...Neji.." Suigetsu shouted, "If you can hear me!" There was a small pause where Sasuke didn't say anything, but gently put his palm against one of the giant boulders.

"We will…We will bring Naruto to safety. Please…Please be safe! Help is on their way!"

"Suigetsu! We have to go.."Karin sobbed. Suigetsu grabbed her hand and together they followed the others. Karin looked over her shoulder at the collapsed end of the tunnel. She shut her eyes, she could sense their presence strongly.

Sasuke sighed and turned back to Haku and Neji.

"Any strategies?" Neji asked

"Stay alive?…" Sasuke suggested, looking ahead of him. "I'm sorry you two got stuck on this side."

"I would follow you to the grave" Haku said, he quickly wrapped an arm around Sasuske and pushed their heads together in a small bump. "There is always a Hufflepuff that is willing to invest their time in you."

Sasuke smiled at Kakashi's wise words. Both Haku and Sasuke looked over at Neji.

"I am a Hyuuga, it is my duty to keep the wizarding world safe" Neji said, folding his arm. He turned his face away.

"So...This is it…" He said, hiding the fear in his voice. However, he failed at it.

"Maybe..." Sasuke said and looked up at the darkness of the tunnel.

They could hear the echoes of footsteps coming nearer and not soon after Kakuzu, Hidan and Itachi revealed themselves from the dark.

"You blocked the tunnel…" Itachi noted immediately, looking past the three students at the physical barrier that kept him from capturing the Jinchuriki.

"Let's blast past them!" Kakuzu shouted.

"Try me!" Haku narrowed his eyes, a cold breeze already coming from his direction. Kakuzu groaned.

"We can't blast through it. It will make the tunnel more unstable and collapse with us in it." Itachi quickly noted. This aspect just happened to be pure coincidence as Sasuke didn't even think twice of the consequences of his actions.

"There is no way you thought we would hand the jinchurki to you on a silver platter?" Sasuke, Haku and Neji stood in a duelling position. "I'm ready for my re-match, brother."

Itachi's eyes turned scarlet and he held his head high, but he obviously showed clear signs of frustration.

"Sparing your life was a mistake," Itachi said between gritted teeth. "Don't hold back." He commanded the other two members before all three of them started attacking.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15 "Purgatory"

Sasuke Uchiha was sitting down on the dinner table of his Uchiha Manner. The room was decorated elegantly, but it gave a distant and cold vibe. It was the opposite of what he had gotten used to with Obito. Their table was a small wooden square and it was much less fancy. However, it was cozier and there was a clear presence of warmth and love hanging around it. Sasuke had been sitting alone here while three chairs remained empty. One on each end of the table and the other in front of him. The room was lit up with candles, but it seemed to give very dull light for a room so big.

Sasuke could see three house-elves walk around. All of them were slightly trembling when they noticed the presence of the young Uchiha. They held their gaze on the ground and kept their heads low. Sasuke didn't say anything to them as he looked at the silverware place in front of him. They were so clean and shiny, Sasuke could see his reflection in them. He grabbed the spoon and looked at his face.

"Checking yourself out, son?"

Sasuke looked up from his spoon and could see a man in his late forties approach the table. He sat down on Sasuke's left. He had short, dark hair that reached to his shoulders and onyx-coloured eyes, with visible creases below them.

"No…" Sasuke spoke carefully to the man who had just called him his son. He was surprised by his presence. He recognized the man as Fugaku Uchiha, his father. He looked exactly like he did in The Mirror of Erised. The man laughed slightly..

"Already a ladies man," he chuckled, "at your age I didn't even know what girls were."

"My age?" Sasuke looked back at the silver spoon. His bangs were on each side of his face, no longer covering his forehead as they used to. His face didn't show any cuts or bruises that he was somehow sure of having.

"I'm thirteen, " He mentioned, seeing the reflection of his father's face in his spoon. He could see some surprise and sadness in his fugaku's eyes, but he didn't know why. Sasuke accidentally dropped his spoon.

"Sorry…" he said as he was about to pick it up.

"Don't touch that, Pumpkin; it is dirty now." He felt a faint tap on his upper arm which caused him to look up at a beautiful woman in a dark blue gown. She had fair-skin and long, straight black hair with bangs hanging on either side of her face to roughly frame her cheeks and black eyes. On top of her head was a silver head-chain. Sasuke stared at her in awe.

"Pick that up and bring a new spoon, immediately." She ordered one of the house-elves before she sat down at the table and smiled at her son..

"How was your semester at Hogwarts?" Mikoto asked. She seemed generally interested.

"Hogwarts?" Sasuke questioned. He broke the eye contact between them to eye the empty chair.

"Ah I see, you miss your brother," Mikoto said, stopping her speech midway. "He will be back. He is always so worried about you."

"Is he now?" Sasuke asked. There was no hatred in his voice. No sadness. Nothing. Sasuke turned his head back at the empty seat. A nagging feeling in his guts. It was as if he missed his older brother and just wanted to spend time with him. However, somewhere in the back of his mind...That feeling was strange.

Mikoto's hand reached for Sasuke's. Her's felt cold and hard compared to Sasuke's. The young Uchiha looked down at it. On one of her fingers was a ring with a big ruby stone in it and her nails were long and painted to match her dress. She gave her son a small squeeze.

"Don't worry about it, pumpkin. You are with us now" she said. Her expression seemed relieved. Sasuke pulled his hand back and grabbed his chest. He was feeling an intense pain, like somebody had stabbed him in the heart.

 _"We have a pols!"_

Sasuke stared at the ceiling, hearing different voices talking faintly around him.

"Darling, why are you holding on to your chest?" Mikoto asked concerned.

"I..I don't know.." Sasuke spoke, the feeling fading away, "Do you hear that?"

Mikoto and Fugaku shared a look before shaking their heads.

"The voices?" Sasuke questioned. They shook their heads again. Sasuke looked eagerly around the dining room. He felt scared; no idea what he was hearing and where they came from. All these voices sounded different, they sounded angry and panicking.

Sasuke was quickly caught off guard when he heard his father talk to his mother. Suddenly the voices became softer and eventually stopped. Sasuke looked at the house-elves, serving dinner.

"Where is Binky?" Sasuke asked. The house-elf he talked to looked frightened and just shook his head. Sasuke looked away in confusion.

"Pumpkin," Mikoto had a stern voice now, "would you like to tell us what is bother you?"

"Perhaps there is a Boggart under his bed again? Shisui would like to take a look at that.That boy is strange, but can cast a wonderful reddikulus charm. Such pity he isn't here."

"Shisui..." Sasuke remembered his kinsman with curly black hair that was often teasing him. "Last time I saw him he showed me a Wampus." He started telling his parents, "It didn't like me so much...Almost bit my head off" Sasuke recalled. Remembering a big cat pinning him down while a grown man was standing behind it laughing loudly.

"Oh Sasuke, did he pester you again? You should know your dad doesn't disprove from the occasional under age magic here and there." Fugaku gave Sasuke a wink.

Sasuke could hear the faint sound of voices again. He had no clear idea where it was coming from.

" _Wake up...Please...Wake up…_ "

It seemed it faded away fast too.

"So, the all awaiting question. What house were you sorted in? Did you make the Quidditch team? What position? "

"Fugaku " Mikoto said strictly.

"I was sorted in Slytherin... " Sasuke said a bit absent minded. "I do like Quidditch. I play Seeker for the team. Well, I sort of stole the position from Neji Hyuuga, he got a bit angry about that. "

"Oh Slytherin...Why haven't you requested The Sorting Hat to place you in Ravenclaw, like your brother?" Mikoto asked, looking a bit disappointed.

"I..I didn't request anything…" Sasuke was still looking for the source of the voices once he started hearing faint sobbing again.

"I am so proud of you for making the Quidditch team. It was to be expected from an Uchiha." Fugaku said proudly. For a moment Sasuke forgot all the question in his head and just looked at the proud eyes of his father.

"A seeker. I thought you would've made Chaser or Beater. You did like to hit aBbludger at your cousins heads. I bet your Team Captain couldn't resist putting an Uchiha in the Seeker position, naturally. Make sure to try and beat your brother the next time you go against Ravenclaw."

"Dear, don't make the two competitive. Besides, Itachi is no longer at Hogwarts." Mikoto reminded him.

"Next time we go shopping, we are going to get you a Firebolt!" Fugaku said excitedly. Mikoto coughed, causing Fugaku to tone it down a bit. "Uhm..It is then...Your Christmas and Birthday present in one!"

Mikoto looked displeased, but accepted her husband conditions to the expensive gift.

"What about your subjects, Pumpkin?" Mikoto asked. Sasuke did expect her to ask about them sooner or later.

"They are good. I'm pretty good at Defence Against The Dark Arts and Charms. My Transfiguration grades are outstanding too. Astronomy and Herbology are a bit harder but I am still doing good. History of Magic is plain out boring. I don't really care about the Goblin Wars. As for Potion...It is probably my lowers grade, but I am still on the top five on my class. " Sasuke said briefly, "I joined the duelling club for extra credits. I hope I can get some transferred to Arithmancy. "

"Your potion-grade could use some upgrading then. Anywhere below Outstanding is quite disappointing while you are my son" She said with a small smirk on her face. "Maybe with some tutoring your might become as good as your brother"

"Yes, Itachi does take after his mother, doesn't he?" Fugaku added.

"I would love that" Sasuke looked back at the empty chair.

"Itachi will come...Just be patient," Fugaku said, looking at the same empty chair. "We had to wait for you a long time too."

Those words made Sasuke frown slightly. What did he mean by that?

"Everything he does. He does because he loves you so much." Mikoto added.

Sasuke could hear the faint voices again.

"May I be excused? " Sasuke didn't wait much for an answer from either of his parents. He got up from the table and walked around the room, trying to figure out where the voice came from. Those faint cries and the constant pleading. Sasuke walked out of the dining room into a big hallway. There were moving portraits on the wall and statues standing on a few places.

Sasuke came to a stop when he saw the entrance of a big room with big windows that revealed the night sky; there were tons of bookshelves with a big collection of books. There were a couple of different types of couches and a table with a few crystal glasses. Next to it stood an old bottle of fire whisky.

Sasuke walked inside, admiring the room. It was probably the only room in this entire mansion that had a slightest sense of warmth in it. Sasuke stood still in front of the burning fireplace. It was quite amazing how such fire could heat up and entire room. Sasuke hadn't felt the slightest bit of warmth anywhere else in the house yet. He sat down at the couch with a back that was raised at one end that had been nearest to the fireplace.

The Uchiha closed his eyes, embracing the warmth that was surrounding him like a big, thick blanket. He laid his head down, feeling calm and safe. He heard a familiar voice in his ears, but it didn't scare him. In fact, it lightened his heart and a smile automatically spread across his face. He didn't know what the voice was saying to him, it wasn't crying...It wasn't saying a bunch of nonsense as he had been hearing these past hours. It was reading him a story. Something about three brothers, the details didn't quite matter to Sasuke.

He opened his eyes the second it all suddenly stopped. The fire went out and Sasuke felt the cold of the room again. He sat up, looking at the fireplace before looking around him for something to turn the fire back on. His eyes fell a couple of displayed pictures on a small table.

He got up from the couch and walked towards it. He picked one up and saw a picture of a younger him and his brother. Itachi was stroking Sasuke's hair while Sasuke was giving him a big smile.

"Mom…" Sasuke called out, he wanted to ask when the picture was taken. He turned around and suddenly shouted out of the top of his lungs and dropped the frame.

He looked wide-eyed at his reflection in the mirror. It didn't even look like him, or at least, not what he had remembered himself to look like. He was paler than a ghost; his one eye had big dark line under it as the other was hidden behind an eyepatch; his hair had grown slightly past his shoulders and was covering a part of his scary face.

"Pumpkin!" Mikoto rushed inside the room.

"Mom!" Sasuke cried out, his face was so thin, his cheeks were hallow while his male bones were highly visible.

"Mom, I am scared!"

"Pumpkin, you are safe! You are safe with me." She kneeled down in front of Sasuke and her hands reached for his son's face, "I will protect you-"

Sasuke could see her hand go right through him. Her eyes widened in shock and so did Sasuke's as they stared at one another. Sasuke looked down at his hands and could see them become transparent.

"Mom!" Sasuke shouted, looking at the woman who seemed petrified. She sat back, Fugaku got down on one knee and held his wife tightly.

"Dad! mom! What is happening!" Sasuke cried out. He felt nothing but fear take over him. Tears were rolling down his cheeks as he desperately tried to hold to his mother, but his hand went right through her.

Oxoxoxox

Sasuke gasped and almost felt his body getting pulled up by some force. He sat up, a hand on each side of the mattress. However, he came to regret it quickly. His torso fell back down on the bed and he felt his body inexcruciating pain. From his arms to chest, all the way in his back and his legs.

A abrupt rush of people ran towards him. A lot of people Sasuke had never seen in his life before. One grabbed his wrist, the other pulled his eyelid open and was shining a light with his wand. At this point Sasuke didn't know what was going on or where he was. All he knew was that he was scared if not frightened to the core of his bones. He tried pulling his arm back, but it felt his strength had failed him. The man that was hovering over his eye was asking him if he could recall his name, but at the same time the woman injecting his arm with a unknown substance asked him if he could move his fingers. Then there was the third men asking if he could recall the last thing he remembered. Sasuke shut his eyes, an immense headache took over and he felt tears well up in his eyes. He wanted all of the people to leave him alone and to stop touching him.

As soon as he had thought that a sudden wave of wind was created around him and everybody close got blasted away. Sasuke opened his eyes, seeing a few of them get up from the ground, dusting themselves off as they all stared resentfully ahead of them, but their expressions changed rather fast and now they were looking down, their heads bend down.

Tsunade Senju entered the room, she was tapping the end of her wand on her palm. Sasuke suspected her from blasting the medics around him away.

"This is exactly why the headmaster told the Ministry we had no use for medics from St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries... "

Her heels were clicking on the floor and echoed through the room. She ignored the two witches and two wizards and walked to Sasuke's bedside. Tsunade gave him an almost pitiful smile. Her red lips pressed tightly together as she put her warm hand on Sasuke's forehead and closed her eyes. Her hand was surrounded by a green coloured energy and there was an immediate release of tension in Sasuke's frontal lobe. She removed her hand and opened her eyes.

"You may leave, " she waved her hand casually behind her. Her eyes still fixated on Sasuke while she was talking to the other medics.

"Lady Tsunade- "

"Let me clarify... " She now turned her head around and frowned, "That was not a request. " She said between gritted teeth. The medics swallowed and left, leaving Tsunade and Sasuke behind.

"Sasuke...Sasuke...Sasuke.. " She sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed. She grabbed her black, pointy hat and placed it on the nightstand. "I'm sorry about that. It appears since I left St. Mungo's the newly hired staff is not up to standards at all. Well, not everybody is as well trained as Shizune. "

Sasuke opened his mouth to say something, but all the sounds that came out of his mouth were mere gasps and whispers.

"It is alright, boy... " She said, folding her arms over his busty chest. "You gave us quite the scare. You 're at Hogwarts, the infirmary. " she informed him.

"Na...Naruto? " Sasuke tried to ask about Naruto, but his voice was a bare whisper at the moment. He tried to sit up, but every inch he moved was hurting. Tsunade caught on to it and helped Sasuke in a sitting position.

"Naruto is fine, you don't have to worry about him. " She told him firmly while helping him sit up. Sasuke looked in the room which was packed with Get-Well-Soon cards, bouquets of flowers and a ton go wrapped presents that were placed all over the floor.

"You worried a lot of people, " Tsunade said, seeing Sasuke's rather questioning look.

"I don't even know that many people... " Sasuke whispered, but didn't get a responds from Tsunade. She got up from the edge of the bed and saw Shizune rush inside, holding hot cup in both her hands.

"I received your patronum, " Shizune said. She was wearing her nightgown which revealed most of her legs, arms and chest. However, it seemed she didn't seem to mind, given her relieve, excitement and worry.

"Shizune! " Tsunade said in a firm voice, "Put something on, you will catch a cold! "

"Oh, I am so sorry! " She said, "I was getting ready to go to bed when I received the wonderful news. I got too excited... " It seems there was going too much through her head. She stopped her sentence mid way.

"Drink. Carefully, but warm...Can you hold it? Oh, I am not taking any chances. I 'll have to levitate it. Now, where is my wand? Have you given him a painkiller yet? Where did I put that potion- " Shizune was walking all over the room.

"Shizune! " Lady Tsunade waved her wand and the cup started flooding in front of Sasuke while a robe magically appeared around Shizune.

"One thing at the time " Tsunade said. It seemed she took back her words from earlier, "What have you brought? "

"It's for his voice. It should heal up the damage in his vocal cords from all the scream- " She suddenly stopped talking and looked away.

"Drink up...Slowly..But drink it warm. " She leaned over the bed to put her hand on Sasuke's shoulder and gave it a soft pat. Shizune than tied the robe tightly around her and went back to her work. She grabbed a couple of potions from the cupboards she had opened a second ago, found her wand and grabbed a few spell books.

"If you would rate you pain.. a scale from 1 to 10... "

"Six" Sasuke said, his voice slightly clearer after gulping down the rather awful tasting potion. He had been hoping it was just some normal tea.

"Now without acting tough, " Tsunade said firmly. For a mere moment Sasuke wondered how Tsunade figured out he was lying.

"Eight.. " He said gulping down the last sip of potion.

"You are a tough one, Uchiha. " Tsunade said, writing a few things down, "People don't often describe the curciates curse as an eight out of ten. "

Sasuke's eyes widened by the mention of the forbidden curse. He remembered lying down on his back, blood dropping off his face. His brother pointing his wand at him and casting the forbidden curse. The curse that It is one of the most powerful and sinister spells known to wizardkind. The curse inflicts intense, excruciating pain on the victim.

Sasuke remembered his body squirming. He had been screaming so loudly at a certain point his voice left him and all that was left were silent yelps.

"How...How did I survive? " Sasuke asked, looking up at the brown eyes of Tsunade who now gave him an look Sasuke couldn't quite place. Pitiful? Sad? Angry? Maybe a combination of the three?

"Barley... " She said.

He tried to think back of what happened, but he couldn't fully remember. A few images appeared in his head. Most were of Itachi who was standing over him with his wand pointed at him.

Sasuke's eyes widened when he remembered Haku. His body was lying lifelessly on the dirty floor. Blood dripping off his face as his eyes were staring dully in front of him. How the last bit of light left them after getting the full blast of forbidden magic by both Hidan and Kakuzu.

"Haku... " Sasuke whispered.

Shizune dropped a tray and put her hands over her mouth before looking away from Sasuke. He could hear her soft sobbing by the mention of the name.

Sasuke turned his head back to Tsunade. His heart felt heavy in his chest and he gave her an almost pleading look.

"I didn't want to be the one to tell you, Sasuke. " she said. At that point, Sasuke could feel his heart drop.

"Haku is dead. " She said with a pained expression in her eyes. "There was nothing we could do... "

Sasuke stared blankly in front of him. He had hoped it was all some sort of joke, but he knew it wasn't. He had seen the moment Haku's soul had left his body. He remembered Hidan kicking the boy on to his side before declaring he was dead. But what was far worst than the images of his lifeless body on that cold, dirty floor was the fact that it was Sasuke who was responsible for it. He had dragged Haku with him to the Inn. He had made the tunnel collapse and forced the Hufflepuff student to fight alongside him. He was the reason Haku was murdered. He was the cause of Haku's death.

Sasuke could feel his chest tighten and his breaths shorten. Tears were welling up in his eyes was breathing short breaths in and out. His breathing became faster, but it felt he was getting no air in his lungs.. Sasuke pulled his legs closer to him, and put his hands in his hair, pulling slightly on it.

The pleadings of mercy in his head. The images of Haku's body. The guilt and shame he felt. It was becoming too much for the Uchiha. He started crying out; his voice was hoarse and his screams of agony sounded like bare whimpers.

Shizune was sobbing quietly while Tsunade looked away, biting down on her lip and doing her best to fight back her tears. Her heart was breaking at the scene. The door of the infirmary opened and Hashirama and Tobirama Senju entered the room. They were holding their wands that were both providing some additional light in the dark halls.

"We got Shizune's patronum, " Tobirama said while Hashirama speechlessly looked at Sasuke crying out.

"He is not doing too well, is he? " Tobirama commented.

"We told him what happened to Haku, " Tsunade said softly to her uncle.

Tobirama remained quiet, folding his arms as he looked with a uncomfortable expression.

Hashirama, however, approached Sasuke and carefully placed a hand on his shoulder. Sasuke looked up. His one eye expressed so many emotions all at once. But Hashirama was capable of identifying every one of them. Hurt, sadness, guilt, fear...He could name every single one as he had seen this expression before in the eyes of his best friend, Madara Uchiha, when they were mere teenagers. He knew exactly in what kind of horrible pain the boy was in. Not just physically….but emotionally.

He wrapped his arms around Sasuke and pulled him in a tight hug. The Uchiha was shaking in his arms, but in a couple of minutes he finally stopped screaming; he stopped shaking. His head was leaning on Hashirama's chest. Hashirama felt warm and protective. It took a couple of minutes for him to have calmed down and sit back down.

Sasuke was staring blankly ahead of him, while Hashirama had a arm wrapped around him and stroked his hair.

"I killed him... " Sasuke whispered. "I killed Haku... "

"No, you didn't. Sasuke, what happened to Haku is no one's fault but the Akatsuki's. They are the ones responsible. " Hashirama said sternly.

"He should have been on the other side...He wasn't supposed to die... "

"Sasuke, eating yourself up about something out of your hands is only going to make you miserable. " Tobirama finally spoke. His voice was stern an emotionless as usual. Sasuke gave the man a glare . He was no where near as warm hearted as his brother is.

"Trust me...I've been there... " Tobirama added softly.

Sasuke's eyes softened. Somehow, Tobirama seemed sincere in his advice.

"What happened? After I passed out? " Sasuke finally asked.

"Your friends arrived at the castle and immediately informed us of what happened. The aurors and we arrived at the same time in the tunnel. Itachi and Hidan made it out. Kakuzu got captured by the aurors. We don't know the details after his arrest. "

Sasuke closed his eyes. Hearing his brother was still walking around freely terrified him. Even though a part of him said that if anybody was going to bring Itachi Uchiha down...It had to be him.

"Haku was already dead upon arrival. You were in critical state, Sasuke." Hashirama stopped talking for a couple of seconds before continuing, "We brought you and Mr. Hyuuga to the infirmary. Mr. Hyuuga was conscious within a day and his family rather had him in st. Mungo's. He has made a good recovery, he has been back for a while now. You on the other hand...Were more... Critically injured. We didn't even know you were going to make it. You were at the brink of death, Sasuke. We tried everything we could to keep your body alive, but all the rest...It was up to you."

Sasuke finally moved away from Hashirama. Remembering his dream very clearly. Or what he had thought was a dream.

"How long was I out? " Sasuke aske, shaking off the many other questions he had.

Hashirama gave Tsunade a quick look before she answered: "Three months "


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16 "Haku"

Dawn had broke down sooner than expected; Sasuke barley managed to shut an eye that entire night. Not only was there the whole shock of missing out three months of his life. His mind couldn't give him a break from the Akatsuki, from his brother and naturally from Haku.

Sasuke sighed deeply before sitting up. He moaned as every inch of his body ached. His hand reached for his wand, hoping to cast some additional light, but to his surprise his wand didn't respond.

"Lumos... " Sasuke whispered, holding his wand closer to him. However, his wand remained unresponsive.

"Lumos! "

it started flickering on and off before it remained on.

"You let me down enormously three months ago. I 'll have you checked! " Sasuke hissed, as if his wand could understand him. He sat still for few minutes, looking around to room to search for something. Eventually, he reached for the cards that were placed nearby his bed. There was nothing else for him to do than to read the get-well-soon wishes from people he barley knew.

He grabbed the first one and attempted to open it when he felt a sudden breeze enter the room. Sasuke immediately looked around him. All the windows were supposed to be closed. It was strange for a breeze like that to appear out of nowhere. The Uchiha was convinces somebody must have opened some window or door. He looked at the entrance, seeing nothing...At first.

Before he knew it he saw the invisibility cloak get pulled off Naruto as he ran to Sasuke's bed side. He felt Naruto wrap his arms around him and pull him in a tight hug. They both didn't say a word, but Naruto's arms started squeezing tighter and Sasuke couldn't hold back his yelp. Naruto backed off quickly, apologizing under his breath before cupping Sasuke's cheeks in his hands, examining him thoroughly.

"I thought I had lost you... " Naruto whispered, a smile spread across his face while tears were rolling down his cheek. He closed in and placed a careful kiss on Sasuke's forehead. The Uchiha smiled weakly before looking up to meet Naruto's eyes. He could see a slight sight of a red scar on Naruto's left temple. He could only assume it was the spot Shikamaru had probably hit him with a rock.

Naruto had changed a bit in the three months. He seemed a bit taller than before. His hair had changed slightly too. It had gotten longer in the front and back. It wasn't his usually spiky hairstyle. However, it suited him well.

"Naruto...I'm- " Sasuke couldn't finish his sentence when Naruto shook his head.

"We don't have to talk about that now, Sasuke... " He said, sitting down next to Sasuke. He wrapped his arms around the Uchiha, pulling him in another hug. "I just can't believe you woke up... "

"It is 6 AM, what are you even doing here ? " Sasuke asked. He adjusted their positions slightly so he was a bit more comfortable. "Breakfast doesn't start in like another hour and a half. "

"I came here every day before breakfast. I would leave around eight, that's when those medics from 's arrive. They kept daily watch around you. The ministry's orders. They also put two aurors in front of the infirmary. It is a bitch passing them. " Naruto admitted, "I would try to to sneak in before dinner too, that is when their shift changes. "

"Why were you not allowed to visit me? " Sasuke asked.

"Precaution, so I've been told. The ministry has been under fire since the attack at Hogsmeade. They got blamed for everything. Especially for the late arrival from the was supposed to be a signal at the department the moment dark magic was used near one of their detection and protection charms. However, it didn't. They say the Akatsuki found a way around it...But...Well..I don't know...Sort of sounds like an inside job to me."

Naruto sighed, "And my dad got a ear-full from the press. They claim dad did not responding fast enough. They got a letter by owl from the Honeydukes owners. They arrived about seconds later after receiving the letter. Now there are a bunch of pure-blood fanatics saying this proofs muggle-borns are not at all as concerned for the wizarding worlds as full-bloods are. You know, minister Sarutobi had his back, but it is Danzo who is constantly saying shit... "

Sasuke felt bad for Minato Namikaze. He was such a nice man. He didn't deserve the bad press for something he couldn't do anything against. If such charm was sabotaged, there was no other way for him and his department to have known about any dark wizards at Hogsmeade.

"There is so much about the magical world I don't know... " Sasuke sighed, leaning his head against Naruto's chest. "I am just happy you are alive.. " He whispered, hearing Naruto's heartbeat. It made him feel calm and safe somehow.

"When did you wake up? " Naruto asked.

"Last night " Sasuke answered him and began telling Naruto what had happened the moment he woke up to the moment the three Senjus and Lady Shizune left.

"They told you... " Naruto sat slightly up. His seemed sad and angry. His eyes glued to the covers of the bed.

"His aunt and uncle buried him last week. Private funeral, only members of the Yuki clan were allowed to go. Hogwarts is holding a memorial for him in a week or two. " Naruto bit down his cheek.

"We were devastated after hearing...Everything that happened. To you...To Haku. " Naruto said, "Neji was questioned when he woke up. They had to squeeze everything out of him. He was pretty traumatized; he spend a few weeks at home before returning. He isn't quite himself. Never talks about what happened either. Sakura says it is the trauma."

"At least he isn't dead. Did he tell you how he survived? " Sasuke asked curiously.

"Something about being blasted away and the tunnel further collapsing. He was buried under it, unconscious. He got a few broken bones, and some light head trauma. Nothing magic couldn't fix."

"Not dead at least... " Sasuke sighed,"How's everybody else?...How are you? "

Naruto didn't turn his head around to look at Sasuke. He was just staring at some of the flowers. Lost in his thoughts.

"Just a little headache... " He whispered softly.

Sasuke put his hand on Naruto's shoulder, before resting his chin on it.

"You know nothing that happened is your fault? " Sasuke whispered softly.

"I know... " Naruto words didn't sound sincere at all. It sounded like an automatic responds to make adults stop nagging at him. His hands were clenching the sheets tightly. Sasuke placed a small kiss on Naruto's cheek before wrapping both his arms around him. They sat like that for a while. Sasuke didn't know what words to use to comfort Naruto. If all, he still felt like it was his fault Haku was dead.

Hashirama's words started making more sense now. Sasuke felt guilty...So did Naruto...So might Haku's aunt and uncle, the ministry, the headmaster himself, the aurors...At the end it was Hidan and Kakuzu who had killed him. They where to blame.

"They caught Kakuzu...So I heard " Sasuke said, hoping it would cheer the blond a bit up.

"He also killed himself before his first interrogation. Turns out he keeps a Cyanide pill hidden in his teeth... " Naruto turned his head to Sasuke. "For a pure-blood fanatic and one of the most loyal generals of the dark lord, he used a very muggle-like-way to take himself down. "

"But...Now we know that... " Sasuke said. He could see Naruto smile at his hopeless effort to cheer him up. He cupped Sasuke's cheek with one hand and placed a small kiss on the Uchiha's lips.

"Yeah... " Naruto said and laid down next to Sasuke.

"So, when you came to visit me. What did you talk about? " Sasuke asked, putting his head on Naruto's extracted arm. He figured changing the subject was the best way to make this depressing mood fade away "How cute I am? How well I am rocking this new hair? How this one eye-thing is working for me? "

Naruto laughed and with his other hand he reached in his cloak to grab a book.

"The Tales of Beedle The Bard... " Sasuke read the title out-loud. It was a warn-out, old book, that looked centuries old.

"I didn't really know what to say, but Sakura told me you would still be able to hear me. So...I just read to you instead " Naruto admitted. "It's my favourite book. My mum used to read this to me every night when I was a screaming, crying, annoying baby... " Naruto smiled, "And every time I felt sad..Or alone..I would read this. I know it is sort of stupid- "

Sasuke shook his head as he took the book from Naruto and skimmed through it.

"I actually think this...This is how I woke-up... " Sasuke muttered, remembering the fire-place where he had been feeling safe and sound.

"I think I saw purgatory. I think I met parents... " Sasuke whispered, handing the book back to Naruto. "I didn't know at first...They just seemed...Pretty happy I was there and...Now that I think about it there are so many things I wanted to ask them. They did most of the talking, I was so stunned I...I just listened.. " Sasuke explained, "I think my dad likes Quidditch...He was sort of proud I had made the Slytherin team. He said he would get me a Firebolt, but then my mother got a little angry and he said that it would have been my Christmas and Birthday gift in one. My mom wasn't happy, but she agreed. "

"If this isn't an excuse to get a Firebolt, I don't know what is, dattebayo~" Naruto laughed.

Sasuke thought back to the conversation. He suddenly began to wonder why his mother had been a bit upset with him being sorted into Slytherin. Even Itachi made a remark why it was ironic. The reason behind it?...Sasuke had no idea.

The door of the infirmary swung open and Naruto jumped up, looking at the clock that said 8AM. Two hours had passed already. He didn't get a chance to grab or summon his cloak before Hashirama Senju and Lady Tsunade entered. Both didn't seem surprised. Tsunade frowned at Naruto and Hashirama simply picked up the cloak from the ground.

"You ought not to lose this again, Mr. Uzumaki " Hashirama said, "It was hard enough to retrieve it from the ashes of the Hogshead Inn. "

Naruto nodded and put the cloak back in his bag. He had his head lowered and his eyes fixated on the ground. He expected some sort of scolding for sneaking in the infirmary to see Sasuke, but instead he got a pat on the head.

"After sneaking in and out for so many times, you must be delighted seeing Mr Uchiha awake and well " Hashirama said. Tsunade frowned deeper as she glared at the headmaster from the corner of her eye.

"He needs rest. " Tsunade said sternly.

"I'm sure he does. But he would also need some company from his peers. We humans don't do well when we are isolated, now do we? " Hashirama defended Naruto. Tsunade made a small remark about being too sober to deal with her uncle right now.

"I remember seeing a very concerned red-head at the breakfast table. " Hashirama mentioned to Naruto. A small grin appeared on Naruto's face as he turned to Sasuke.

"I will tell Karin you passed away last night and you pretend to be dead! Once she is up here you scare the shit out of her,Dattebayo! " Naruto whispered excitedly.

"Naruto Uzumaki, I didn't visit purgatory and came back to prank Karin. " Sasuke said seriously.

Naruto swallowed slightly, feeling like he had crossed some took over him...That was until he felt Sasuke pull his arm and whisper: "You better bring Suigetsu in this too and Kiba. I wanna see them shit themselves before I actually die. "

The big smile returned on Naruto's face.

"This is why I love you, " Naruto said, running out of the infirmary. He felt Hashirama grab him by his collar warning him not to run in the halls before letting him go.

"Are you really up for that? If I know Karin well, she might actually crack a few bones if you two actually continue this prank. " Tsunade said while standing on Sasuke's bed side. She put her hand on the boy's forehead and closed her eyes to focus. A green energy appeared around her hand and she got a full detail of the recovery, sensing every vein, artery and nerve. She retreated her hand.

"You are recovering quicker than expected, " she noted.

"Well Karin would only hit Naruto. And it does seem to keep his mind of things. " Sasuke muttered the last sentence under his breath. He shook the thought off his head before looking at the headmaster.

"Headmaster, did you tell my foster dad what uhm...Happened? " Sasuke asked. He could only imagine the sadness and fury Obito must have felt after hearing what had happened at Hogsmeade.

"I asked Mr Hatake to personally inform your foster dad. I must say...I haven't heard back from him since his resignation. "

"Resignation? Why did Kakashi stop teaching? " Sasuke asked a bit worried.

"Mr Hatake " Hashirama corrected Sasuke. "You could ask him yourself. " Hashirama indicated to the door where Kakashi was leaning against. He saluted Sasuke before walking inside.

"Good to see you are doing well, Sasuke. " Kakashi said. "You are rocking that new hair style. "

"Oh this? " Sasuke indicated to his long hair, "It's called three months on the brink of death. What's your excuse? "

Kakashi grinned under his scarf. It appeared Sasuke was the same old boy Kakashi had remembered him to be.

"It's called fucking your da- " Tsunade's hand grabbed the bottom part of Kakashi's face and slammed him into the ground, so hard, a loud bang was heard all around the infirmary.

"He. Is. Just. A. Kid! " She hissed before letting go of him. Kakashi moaned on the floor before getting up. He rubbed the back of his head that hit the ground pretty hard. Tsuande dusted off her hands before continuing her way through the infirmary.

"Amusing... " Sasuke whispered to Kakashi who seemed slightly annoyed by the comment.

"Did you get word from Obito? " Sasuke asked seriously.

"I got some moans and some ' _Oh kakashi you 're the best_ '. "

"Oh nice, up top " Hashirama said, putting his hand out for Kakashi to high-five. Sasuke sat still...Almost petrified.

"Lady Tsunade! " He yelled out, but got his mouth covered by Kakashi and Hashirama. They both were petrified before looking over their shoulder; they sighed in relieve before releasing Sasuke's mouth.

"I was joking! " Kakashi hissed, looking around to make sure Tsunade didn't hear him. "There are only so many muggles that shoot you through the arm and tie you up that actually wanna go out with you. "

"Please don't make your issues mine. " Sasuke sighed.

"I told him what happened and he was very shocked and angry at first. But he is a very strong men...So he just packed his bag and came to visit you in the infirmary. I helped him travel through the flew network A few times. When there was no change in your condition I convinced him that staying up every night at your bed side wasn't going to fix anything. So, I said I would tell him when there was some change in your situation. " Kakashi explained, "I will be going to his house next and tell him the good news. "

Sasuke nodded.

"Thank you for that. " Sasuke sounded very sincere in his words.

"I am here on other business too. I need to ask if you if you can remember anything from that day. Anything at all. "

"Why did you resign? " Sasuke asked, ignoring Kakashi's request.

"I don't like children after all, " Kakashi joked.

"Then why are you here? " Sasuke asked.

"I joined the aurors. I need to see what you know in case any of it will help us capture Hidan and your brother. "

Something about his words didn't seem honest. When Sasuke looked down at the sheets before looking back up to examine the side of Kakashi's face. He saw some concern in his former professors eyes. It almost felt the whole reason he joined the aurors was to capture Hidan and Itachi and bring them to justice for what they had done. He certainly didn't appear to be after any other dark-wizards. Maybe he wasn't such a bad guy after all. He obviously cared about his students.

"I don't remember a lot after I made the tunnel collapse. Everything went so fast. One moment we were duelling three against three and before I knew it...I was getting curses thrown at me from all sides. " Sasuke said he looked at his wand and grabbed it. He felt bad for not being able to give any additional information. It seems everything he had said, they already got from Neji.

"I do remember something odd happening...When we were outside of the inn. I had a clear shot at Itachi and I wanted to curse him, but my wand pulled my hand away...Like it was defending Itachi... " Sasuke looked up from his wand to Hashirama, hoping he had some answers. But he seemed as clueless as Kakashi and himself.

Naturally there was only one wizard who had the answer to most if not all questions, Tobirama Senju. Sasuke had failed to notice the man standing next to Tsunade, looking over at Sasuke's bed side and hearing the story he told.

"It is rare, but I have heard of it happening before by people whose wands share the same core-type from the same magical creature. " Tobirama said, looking over at the three.

"Wait what? " Kakashi and Sasuke both looked confused. Tobirama approached the bedside.

"I was your brother's professor and head of house. " He said firmly, "I noticed both you and your brother's wands have the same core type. There is a chance both phoenix features used to make your wands came from the same creature. Which would make your wands- "

"The same! " Hashirama interrupted.

Tobirama shook his head

"Brothers " he answered. "Take it from me..It is hard to curse your brother. Believe me, I have tried. " He took a deep breath while looking down at Hashirama who rubbed the back of his neck and smiled innocently.

"But he was capable of using the cruciates curse on me. " Sasuke said, not sure if he wanted an answer or if he was trying to argue the fact his wand and his brother's wands were...Brothers.

Sasuke shook his head, feeling confused.

"I remember Itachi to be a very talented and bright wizard. It wouldn't surprise me if he found a way around it. He was the type of genius who was capable of brewing a poly-juice potion in his first year. "

Sasuke lowered his eyes.

"My dad did mention my brother took after my mother. " Sasuke muttered, recalling the conversation he had with his parents. "Apparently mom was very good at potions. " He sighed, looking up at the confused looks he got. Even Tobirama was frowning.

"Nevermind" Sasuke quickly pushed the thought out of his head. "Excuse me, I have to pretend I died before by friends come in. " Sasuke said, putting his head back on his pillow. "So I can scare the shit out of them. "

"Oh oh, you need to suddenly grab their hands when they are crying at your bed side. " Kakashi advised.

"No just suddenly stare right at them while they are crying. " Tsunade said.

"No, no you need to jump up and scream. That would scare them! "Hashirama added. He felt a slap on the back of his head from his brother.

"You shall not do such nonsense! " Tobirama warned Sasuke, looking rather angry.

"Pff...Buzzkill, " Hashirama muttered, rubbing the back of his head.

Oxoxoxo

Two weeks had passed since the Uchiha woke up. Sasuke was sitting down in front of Karin who was brushing his hair and tying it up in a bun. She held some bobby pins in her mouth as her hands were busy. She pulled Sasuke's bangs back and pinned them back with the pins.

"Maybe leave some over the bandage around his eye? So it isn't noticeable, " Suigetsu suggested, sitting on a chair in front of the bed. He was retying his tie for the seventh time while he was balancing the chair on its back legs. He was wearing his formal black robes and his hair was combed back to appear neat.

"Things like that, Suigetsu. Things like that... " Karin muttered. She got up and now sat in front of Sasuke. She was checking the Uchiha's face thorough, making Sasuke feel slightly uncomfortable.

"Things like what? " Sasuke asked. Karin took Suigetsu's advice and took some of the bobby pins out, letting the hair fall over Sasuke bandaged eye. She had a wary expression on her face. She moved her hands over the hear, trying to put it in such way it looked presentable.

"The past few weeks people keep assuming I'm gay, " Suigetsu said, undoing his tie again and starting over.

Sasuke chuckled at the comment. It was rather ironic since he was in a relationship with Naruto, a guy. Yet nobody ever confronted him about his sexuality. Karin, however, still didn't know about the relationship Sasuke shared with her cousin, but she did know the Uchiha had told Naruto he loved him before making the tunnel collapse. The past few days, luckily, she hadn't talked about it. Naturally, the circumstances were not right.

"Really? " Sasuke asked curiously.

"A first year asked if I could be her gay best friend... Let's say Kiba and Chouji haven't stopped teasing me about that." Suigetsu sighed, fixing his tie for the eight time. He set the chair down on all four again. "I don't know what it is. "

Karin sat back, looking at her finished work.

"He looks like he is missing an eye! " Karin said loudly,"You are not at all a fashionable gay. That's for sure."

"Well he is missing an eye, ain't he! " Suigetsu argued back.

"I didn't lose my eye... " Sasuke muttered, he grabbed the mirror from Karin and looked at the bandage. "I didn't...Did I? "

"They bandaged it up because it is still in the Sharingan mode. It drains magic, that is why they covered it. " Karin said,"He didn't lose an eye! " She shouted when her face was looking over her shoulder at Suigetsu.

"This is why they didn't allow you guys to visit me. " Sasuke said, "I would have chosen purgatory over this shouting. "

"Stop cracking jokes like that! " Karin said, smacking Sasuke on his upper arm. However, Sasuke wasn't cracking any jokes. He was just telling the truth. He remained quiet as he carefully removed the bandage from his eyes, seeing the scarlet iris with the three tomeo surrounding his pupil.

"You should think of it this way...You make a good pirate " Suigetsu said, laughing as his own half-ass joke. Sasuke looked at it for a couple of seconds, before closing his eyes for a few seconds and opening them again. The scarlet eye had disappeared.

"You're getting the hang of them! " Karin exclaimed, "Now we don't need that EMO-hair " She had a big smile on her face, waiting for her friends to laugh, but neither did. Sasuke closed his eyes, focusing his energy back in them before opening both of them again; they were scarlet again.

"I'm pretty good, " Sasuke said, now staring at the mirror when he deactivated them. "It isn't as hard as I thought. "

Karin pushed his hair back in a bun agaun and sat on the edge of the bed once she was finished.

"I grabbed your robes from your trunk. I hoped they were the ones you meant. " Suigetsu said, grabbing his bag and pulling the black robes out. "They were also the one Binky laid clean and ironed on top of all your other clothes. "

"Naturally, my house-elf does her job right. " Sasuke said, getting up from the bed to put his black robes on.

Suigetsu got up from the chair. Both Slytherin boys looked at Karin didn't even pretend to look away. She looked from Sasuke to Suigetsu and then back at Sasuke.

"Oh! " She said, finally seeming to get what they meant, "Should I help you get dressed! " She offered, a bit too eager.

"Why don't you go stand behind the door? " Suigetsu pointed at the exit. Karin glared at them.

"Because I am a girl? " She muttered under her breath as she walked out of the infirmary and closed the door behind her. It took a bit longer than usually to change clothes, but it was harder to move with your torso and arms covered in bandages. Luckily Suigetsu helped Sasuke get dressed and ready.

"Hey...Are you sure you want to go to Haku's memorial? You know, you don't have to, " Suigetsu said, sitting back down and looking at Sasuke from across the room.

"If I have to spend another day in this infirmary, I will use those sheets to hang myself. Itachi won't have to bother to finish the job this time. " Sasuke said, looking at the mirror on top of the cabinet. He fixed his collar. Suigetsu looked at Sasuke briefly before looking away at the flowers and cards that were placed on top of the closest. Most gifts that people had send were left unopened, some ( that were obviously candy) were opened by Kiba and Naruto who had spend most of their free periods visiting Sasuke. Chouji and Suigetsu had fairly aided them in that process.

"For a guy who almost died, you look decent. " Suigetsu commented, putting his feet up the night stand, he grabbed the bag of Acid Pops and put one in his mouth.

"Things like that... " Sasuke said, causing Suigetsu to frown.

" Can't a bro tell another bro he looks good! " he said annoyed. "My fathers compliment each others all the...Oh wait yeah they are gay. Whatever, got any good chocolate frog cards in your arsenal of candy? "

"I think Shikamaru ate one that had some guys named Jiraiya in it. Chouji collects them too, so he took it. "

"That's al right, I have six of him, " Suigetsu noted. "You got any more chocolate frogs? You would expect these adults to send more of those big boxes. You are a young wizard, they should assume you collect the cards. "

"But I don't...I don't even eat them. " Sasuke looked around for the XL box of chocolate frogs that Iruka had gifted him when he visited Sasuke. He had probably seen Sasuke buy a bunch of candy at Honeydukes and assumed he had a sweet tooth. However, Sasuke had bought the candy as a gift to Naruto. The Uchiha couldn't bring to tell his teacher he didn't quite like the moving chocolate frogs, so he just quietly accepted the box.

"Kakashi gave one to Obito on our first trip to Diagon Alley. and he said it felt like it was trying to crawl out of his mouth. " Sasuke said, grabbing the last one from the big box. He opened it to see what card he had gotten. The chocolate frog inside the package jumped to one of the bouquets and disappeared in between them. Both Suigetsu and Sasuke were staring at the dozens of flowers, trying to spot the chocolate frog. However, neither could.

Sasuke looked down at the box and grabbed the card out of it.

"Mikoto Uchiha... " He read out loud. He narrowed his eyes, re-reading the name. He saw a picture of his mother, wearing a beautiful dark green gown. He turned to the back

" _Considered by many to be the greatest potion-master of modern times, Mrs. Uchiha is particularly famous for the invention of Wolfsbane and Veritaserum. Besides her great potions skills she was skilled in non-verbal spells and magic without the use of a wand. Mikoto enjoys reading and spending time with her family_. "

Sasuke turned the card back to her picture and watched her a bit longer.

"Oh nice, that's a rare one. Can I have it? " Suigetsu said, looking up from he candy. Sasuke gave him a glare. Apparently, he didn't know Mikoto Uchiha was Sasuke's mother.

"Yeah...Yeah...Whatever... "He said, handing the card to Suigetsu who looked at it description.

The door of the infirmary opened, revealing Naruto and Karin. Naruto was wearing his black formal robes too. His hair was brushed neatly and it was obvious it wasn't due to his own efforts. Sasuke couldn't help but notice how handsome he looked. Although, he had gotten used to the stupid orange jumpsuit.

"Finally. I am the girl, but you two really take your times getting ready. " Karin said, probably still a bit butt-hurt for being told to leave the room. She put her black pointy hat on and dusted of her black long dress that revealed her shoulders.

"You look very handsome, " Naruto commented as he stood in front of Sasuke.

"You do too...I wished it was for different circumstances though. " Sasuke sighed, feeling a slight lump in his throat by the thought of Haku's memorial.

"Oh wow..Sasuke, don't freak out. " everybody turned their heads to Suigetsu, "This might haven been you in a past life! Look at the resemblance! " Suigetsu said, holding the card up.

"That is his mother, idiot " Karin said, slapping Suigetsu on the head, "Can't you tell? "

"Ey, you don't wanna keep it? " Suigetsu asked, "You know...Massacre and all. "

"I'm fine without the memory, " Sasuke said coldly. The genuine smile had vanished from his face.

"Ready to go? " Naruto asked. Sasuke nodded, grabbing a white lily from the counter.

They headed to The Great Hall where most students were already seated. Many were sobbing and hugging one another for comfort. Sasuke knew Haku was loved, but now to see the entire school together, mourning him...It made Sasuke realize what a big influence the guy had. At the end of the hall was a table with a black cloth on it. On top of it was a big moving picture of Haku; he was smiling his usual kind smile in it. A lot of students had already placed flowers around it.

Sasuke could see a couple of students stand in front of the table. Ino Yamanaka was putting down a white rose, while Sakura was crying in her handkerchief, seeking support by her friend.

Next to the table were two adults. One was silently whipping the tears away from the corners of her eyes, while the other was clenching a fist. His knuckles colouring white. The hall fell quiet; students were staring at the entrance. Sasuke didn't exactly know what to do. Was he supposed to say something? Was he supposed to do something?

He felt Naruto's fingers intertwine with his. Sasuke looked away from the hall and turned his head to Naruto.

"Let's sit, " he suggested. They walked towards the Gryffindor table where it seemed Chouji, Kiba and Shikamaru had saved them a spot. They sat down and everybody immediately started to whisper around them. Of course, it wasn't too odd. They were the students who had fought along side Haku.

"How are you doing? " Shikamaru asked once Sasuke sat down.

"As good as somebody can at the memorial of their friend. " Sasuke said, looking at the picture of Haku. The eyes of Haku's aunt met his and he was forced to look down at the table.

"Do I have to say something to Haku's aunt and uncle? " Sasuke whispered to Karin. "They are staring at me... "

"I..I don't know...I mean...You were the last person who saw him alive...Maybe you should? " she said, "Maybe tell them his last words? "

"He was screaming and squirming on the floor as they threw unforgivable curses at him? Do I tell them that? How his death was painful and inhumane? Oh Oh...I know. I will tell them how the last ray of light disappeared from his eyes when he was bleeding on the filthy ground! " Sasuke hissed angry. He heard a few gasps and he looked around him. He swallowed loudly, noting how quiet it had gotten when he lost his temper.

"Maybe just say nothing... " Kiba whispered to him.

"I think you now sort of owe it to them... " Naruto said. Nothing how more of the students were crying after over-hearing the gruesome details.

"Look, a lot of students are putting down flowers on the table as we speak. Go, put the flower down. Say your condolences to his aunt and uncle...Maybe...Mention something nice..Nothing about the horrible circumstances surrounding his death, alright?"

"Are you coming too then? " Sasuke whispered.

"We will all come, " Naruto said, looking at his friends who nodded. They got up from their seats and walked towards the table. They each put a flower down and took one more look at the moving picture. Karin's tears were rolling over her cheek and Naruto put a comforting arm around her, although he didn't seem like he was coping well himself.

Sasuke put down his flowers on top of the others. He looked up at the picture of Haku and felt the lump in his throat again. He looked at the end of the table where Haku's aunt and uncle were standing. It was like they were waiting. Sasuke looked ahead at Naruto who gave him an encouraging nod.

He bit down the inside of his cheeks and walked up to the two. They remained quiet and Sasuke was about to open his mouth and say something...But his mind forgot everything Naruto had advised him to say and now he felt panic rise.

"Hey! " He blurted out after a silence that was getting more awkward by the quickly looked at the corner of his eyes at Naruto and Shikamaru who both slapped their foreheads with the palm of their hand. Sasuke swallowed, seeing both of Haku's guardians give him a shocked expression.

"I..I'm...I..Uhm... " Sasuke swallowed loudly. Why didn't Hogwarts teach a subject called 'confrontation '. He could really use that right now.

"Uhm..Haku...I...We..Uhm..Not like..Uhm...I am sorry he 's dead?! "

At that particular moment Sasuke wished that this was his Haku's guardians looked shocked. Naruto quickly came to the rescue and put an arm around Sasuke's waist before taking over the conversation.

"What he is trying to say is that... " He gave Sasuke a quick look, "We are very sorry for your lost. If there is anything we could do to make this difficult times easier on you. Please don't hesitate to ask. " Naruto said. Sasuke looked at Naruto with admiration. He was just so natural with people...Like he knew exactly what they needed to hear.

"Oh you must be Naruto... " The aunt said between sobs, "Haku had told us a lot about you. He is right...You are a kind soul.."

"That means a lot to me, " Naruto said, putting a hand to his heart. Sasuke just gave a quick nod at Haku's aunt. Naruto guided him away from them and Sasuke looked up to see everybody shake their heads.

"You faced three Akatsuki members without hesitation, but giving Haku's aunt and uncle your condolences took too much guts? " Suigetsu questioned.

"Was it that awful? " Sasuke asked, turning his head to Naruto.

"It was pretty awful, dattebayo. " Naruto sighed, sitting down on the Gryffindor table.

"...They are still staring... " Sasuke whispered.

"I don't know Sasuke. Screaming ' _Hey_ ' and ' _Sorry he is dead_ ' doesn't really say ' _this is the last person my nephew fought besides and died_ '...I think they might just want more details. I mean...How hard was it to tell them Haku was like a...Like a brother to you? " Karin advised.

"Like a brother to me? " Sasuke frowned, "Sorry my brother casts unforgivable curses at me and wants me to die! Sorry, I didn't see Haku as a brother figure! " Sasuke snapped at Karin, causing once again for many heads to turn to their direction.

"Guys, shut up, " Shikamaru said and turned his head to Sasuke,"You really want to choose your occasions for your little outburst. "

"I don't know, Shika. Were you besides him when he was brutally murdered? " Naruto asked with a hint of bitterness in his voice.

Shikamaru frowned.

"Come again, Uzumaki? "

"No, you were to busy stabbing me in the back. Maybe, if we all stayed...Nobody would have died." Naruto said, "we were with eight they were with three. "

"I didn't stab you in he back. I punched you in the face like I want to do right now " Shikamaru groaned. "You saw us getting our asses kicked by them at the Inn and down the street. The only reason we even survived that was because that motherfucker got his Sharingan! "He pointed to Sasuke, "Even with a Hyuuga and a memeber of the Yuki clan we were no match. You saw how four fully qualified wizards barley stood their own and then you think eight students could have prevented them from capturing you and killing everybody on the spot! "

"They could have had me! At least Haku would have been alive! " Naruto raised his voice.

"Shut up! " Chouji punched both his fist on the table as he got up. "Both of you! "

Both Shikamaru and Naruto looked away from one another.

"This is Haku's memorial for Merlin's sake. He wouldn't have wanted for you guys to fight. Show some respect. You can duel it out in your own free-time...But Haku wouldn't have wanted his friends to blame each other for his death! "

Chouji's words caused many of them to think. Everybody stared at the table again, nobody said a word. The memorial began. Iruka, the head of Hufflepuff house, said a few words, followed by the headmaster and even the minister of magic came to show his respect. He ended his rather dull speech with the question if any of Haku's friend would like to say a few words which caused a silence to emerge.

Sasuke looked over at the Slytherin table. He saw Anko and Neji...But Zabuza was nowhere to be seen. He thought if anybody would say the last word it would have been his late boyfriend. He looked at Suigetsu, hoping to get some answers, but it seemed Suigetsu was too busy looking at something else. Sasuke turned his head to Naruto who was now walking towards Sarutobi. The minister of magic gave him an encouraging nod.

"What's he doing? " Shikamaru asked.

"Yea he is going to scream at the minster! " Kiba said with hopeful eyes. "Stop hiding, start hunting down those Death Eaters and Akatsuki members! "

"No, " Chouji interrupted them, "He is honouring his friend. "

Sasuke looked at Naruto, he never thought he had seen anybody do anything braver. Public speaking was something that scared Sasuke immensely. If this was the funeral of his own parents he wouldn't have had the courage to stand in front of a big crowd of people and speak his heart out. Perhaps this is why Naruto was in Gryffindor and Sasuke was in Slytherin.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki, and I ...Was...a friend of Haku's, " Naruto said, looking briefly at Haku aunt and uncle.

"The first time I had met Haku, I already knew he was a nice guy." He had a small, almost pitiful smile on his face.

" It was in my first years, and I was running away from a bunch of fifth years after enchanted their ink bottles to explode in their faces. I did that because they were bullying my friend and made him feel bad. They were chasing me down the hall and I bumped against Haku. He saw I was in trouble and he hid me behind a tapestry. The guys that had been chasing me asked him if he had seen, and I quote, ' _a loud, dumb-looking, blond, lose_ r '. Haku told them no and once they were gone, he helped me out from behind the tapestry. I thanked him for not telling on me and...He gave me that kind look...He told me he was being honest and he hadn't seen a loud, dumb-looking, blond, loser. That's how Haku was...He knew who needed his help and he would give it to them without even knowing them. He was so kind, even to the people who were mean to him. He always saw the goodness in everybody. He was smart...Brave...Cunning and above all..Loyal. He fought to protect his friends... "

Sasuke looked away, feeling the lump in his throat thicken. People were weeping all around him. He saw Shikamaru suddenly get up and walk off. Chouji had a worried look and followed him out of the hall. Sasuke looked at Suigetsu.

"He hasn't been really himself...I think he feels guilty for Haku's death. "

Turns out that even Shikamaru felt responsible.

Sasuke heard an applause from the entire hall. From the first year Hufflepuff students to the seventh year Slytherin students. Naruto walked back to his place after hugging both Haku's sobbing aunt and uncle. He sat back down next to Sasuke.

"That was amazing... " Sasuke whispered to him.

"Thank you, " Naruto said, holding Sasuke's hand under the table. They looked up at Haku's aunt, clearing her throat and trying to hold back her tears. She thanked Hogwarts for the beautiful memorial. She said a few words of her own. How Haku had a rough life and how he finally could rest. A lot of student pulled out their wands and stuck them in the air as a small light shone from the tips of each wand. Haku aunt and uncle got very emotional by the sight, but both had a smile on their face knowing how loved their nephew was.

Food was served afterwards, but it seemed most of the student had lost their appetite. The Slytherin Trio and Naruto walked out of The Great Hall and found Shikamaru and Chouji, sitting at a small, not moving, stairwell

"Hey man, " Naruto said, extending a hand to Shikamaru. "I'm sorry about before.. "

"No, man...I'm sorry... " Shikamaru said, giving Naruto a quick hug. "I still feel like it is all my fault... "

"Don't we all? " Sasuke sat down next to Chouji. He leaned forward to look past the boy to Shikamaru.

"Hashirama told me Haku's death is on Hidan and Kakuzu and on no one else. I thought he was just trying to make me feel better, but...Well...It seems everybody is blaming themselves. At the end we didn't point our wands at him... " Sasuke sighed, looking in front of him, seeing the images of Hidan and Kakuzu standing over Haku.

"We didn't kill him... " He whispered.

"Are you feeling al right? " Karin asked, "Your lumos was flickering a bit... " She noted. Sasuke simply nodded before looking up at Naruto.

"You know what he said to me before we faced the Akatsuki... " Sasuke said, "There is always a Hufflepuff that is willing to invest their time in you." a small smile spread across everyone's face. "Kakashi was right... "

"Now, was that so hard to tell his aunt an uncle instead of ' _sorry he's dead_ '. " Suigetsu joked, causing everybody to chuckle.

"There you guys are, " Kiba ran towards his friends and put his bag on the ground and grabbed couple of bottles of butter beer.

"I stole some from the table, " he said, handing them out to everyone. "I figured we might not be able to enjoy the feast but...We might as well poor one out for our friend. " He held up the glass bottle.

"To Haku...May his soul finally rest in peace, " Naruto said, people nodded repeating the first phrase before clicking their bottles.

"That does leave us with one question... " Sasuke sighed, remembering the small, ripped off, piece of parchment with the red ink on it that he had found hidden in the feathers of his hawk. Somebody had been trying to warn him from the Akatsuki...From his brother.

"Who wrote the warning? "


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17 "Recovery "

Sasuke Uchiha was sitting down the breakfast table, scribbling down on a roll of parchment, while a piece of toast was clutched between his jaws. He was working on a plan. A plan that was supposed to keep him from repeating the third year. Sasuke had been on the brink of death for the past three months, while spending another two weeks in recovery, causing him to almost miss out on four months of school. A backlog most students would not recover from, resulting to repeating the year. Sasuke was very determined to do anything in his power to prevent that from happening. Besides, it seemed his mind was stressing so much about catching up that he had barley thought of Haku, the note or Itachi. Perhaps not all of the stress was bad.

Karin and Suigetsu sat down in front of Sasuke, giving him rather odd look. Karin was focused on the mess in front of her friend; a bottle of ink had left a stain on the wooden table, while few books were lying on top of each other upon on an empty plate. Suigetsu, on the other hand, was more focused on the thorn and crumbled pages that had the handwriting and scribbles of a mad man on them.

"Sasuke…" Karin tried her best to sound kind, "It has only been two weeks since you woke up."

Sasuke didn't respond to her, it was almost like talking to a wall. However, she persisted, "Don't you think you should be slowing things down and focus on your recovery? "

The Uchiha sat up straight and took a bite from the toast before holding it in his hand.

"I've been absent for three and half months. I have a lot of assignments due. I missed so many tests...I missed so many lessons. "Sasuke said. "I quit dueling club and Quidditch this year. I might be able to pick them up next year. I have to focus on my subjects. I really don't want to repeat this year."

"Why don't you go to Tobirama's office? Play the recovery card so he can pull some strings and arrange something in your favor. He is vice-principal and it is his job to help with... " Suigetsu pointed at the parchment, "-That."

Sasuke scoffed, but it caused him to almost choke on his piece of toast. He quickly drank some pumpkin juice.

"Yeah right, and have him constantly judge me. I hate that guy, "Sasuke said, wiping his mouth with a napkin.

"Sasuke," Karin began her lecture but Suigetsu interrupted her immediately with the harsh reality: "there is no way you can magically shit out all the homework assignments we had these past four months. Even if you copied everything from Karin, it would still take too long."

Karin nodded in agreement.

"I can handle it." Sasuke seemed determined, "I will just...Go to each teacher and ask them the most essential ones and make those. I don't have to worry about Defense Against the Dark Arts, Charms and Transfigurations. My grades are good enough to take a hit. I was way ahead in those classes anyway…But Astrology and Herbology...That is going to be hard...Oh...And potions... " Sasuke sighed thinking about Ancient Runes, Divination and Arithmancy. "I wish the ministry still had time turners. "

"Why? So you could go back in time and prevent Haku from dying and you from visiting purgatory?"

Sasuke looked up from the parchment to Suigetsu. In his mind he just wanted more time to catch up, but Suigetsu's suggestion made way more sense.

"Yeah...Let's say that. " Sasuke grabbed his quill from the table and dipped it in his ink bottle. He looked up for a mere second, seeing professor Senju enter The Great Hall. He immediately looked away, hoping for the man to not walk past them.

"Mr Uchiha, " Tobirama Senju walked past the Slytherin table. The mess in front of Sasuke was quite noticeable, he scanned the table quickly before looking at him. "If you are ready you can come to my office and we can see how we can arrange your return to your school subjects. "

"Already working on it, professor. "Sasuke tapped his quill on the parchment. A few ink drops fell down, creating stains.

"No worries, I got it. " He said reassuring.

"Very well then, " Tobirama emotionless expression was hard to read. Sasuke couldn't tell if he was relieved he wouldn't have to see the Uchiha during office hours, or if he was angry for a missed opportunity to see put the boy down.

"Look me up if you need help after all." The potion-master didn't batch the table another eye as he walked towards the teacher's table.

"See…" Sasuke whispers, looking at his friends. "He thinks I can't do it. I'm not repeating this year. I bet he would like to torment me for an extra year. "Sasuke hissed.

"Or maybe he doesn't want to be stuck with an Uchiha for another year. He is generally known for not liking Uchihas." Suigetsu said, but got hit in the arm by Karin.

"Don't be ridiculous, Professor Senju is harsh not Uchiha-racist!" Karin frowned.

"Well he fought in the war so….Maybe some PTSD?" Suigetsu suggested.

"He did talk rather fondly about my brother," Sasuke eyed the teacher's table, "Isn't it weird? A student of his own house to have gone dark without him even is realizing it?"

"Yeah that's odd, ain't it?" Suigetsu nodded in agreement. "You don't reckon they are connected somehow?"

Sasuke raised a questionable eyebrow.

"Maybe…."

"Don't be stupid now!" Karin shouted angrily. "The Cruciatus curse didn't make you go mad now, did it?!"

It took a couple of second for Karin to realize what she had just said. She covered her mouth with her hand as her eyes looked guiltily away. Sasuke didn't say anything as he just gave her a emotionless look.

She cleared her throat, looking down at the table in embarrassment.

"You…You can copy this week's homework from me. Then you can focus on studying for the tests we had at the end of last term. " She quickly tried to change the subject.

"Whatever Karin, " Sasuke got up. "I am going to see if I can get some studying done before Astronomy. " he announced, getting up and putting his books in his bags before swinging it over his shoulder and walking out of The Great Hall.

Down at the library Sasuke sat on an individual desk behind some charm books. He purposely was hidden in the corner of the library to avoid people. He was balancing the chair on the back legs while focusing on the note in his hands.

The first class hadn't even started when his thoughts went back to the note that was hidden in his hawk. He wondered why it was hidden; why did they warn him and who had his best interest at heart while clearly having eye or even ties with the Akatsuki? He couldn't think of a single person and it bothered him. Perhaps if he hadn't been obliviated as a child, he would remember some friend, acquaintance, or some person that was close to his parents?

He looked over the handwriting again, it felt familiar. As if he had seen it before, but he couldn't recall exactly where and when.

A few footsteps echoed through the aisles and Sasuke quickly put the note back in his agenda and closed it just before he saw Neji Hyuuga walking around the bookshelves, unsuspected of Sasuke's presence. At this point Sasuke wasn't sure if he was purposely ignoring him like they used to, or if he really hadn't noticed him. For a strange reason it felt odd to be ignoring one another like that. They did fight alongside each other, although Sasuke had no idea what that meant in wizarding standards.

"Hey…" Sasuke spoke, almost straddling the Hyuuga. Neji turned his head to Sasuke, he quickly shook the panic off him and recollected himself.

"Oh...Sasuke…" He spoke softly, "I didn't see you there."

"Odd" Sasuke looked away. "Even though you seem to brag so much about your eyes."

Sasuke waited for some sort of comeback from Neji, maybe even a small punch in his shoulder or a push…He expected anything, but an awkward silence.

Neji sighed, "I saw you at the memorial…Well..Heard actually...Your friends are pretty loud." He gave Sasuke a fake smile. It disappeared quickly from his face.

"Yeah, I saw you too."

"So...I had sent you a card. I think my uncle send over some flowers on behave of the Hyuuga clan. He asks about you in a lot."

"Did he…" Sasuke frowned. Could it be that Hiashi Hyuuga had send him the note? He did mention their clans being on friendly terms. Besides, he had told Sasuke he used to hang out with Hinata a lot as a child. He was also a big fan of pure-bloodedness in the wizarding world, which could give him ties to the Death Eaters and even the Akatsuki?

"Yeah" Neji whispered. He showed a hint of sadness that disappeared quickly, leaving a neutral expression. "I'm sorry I didn't come to visit you when I heard you were awake."

"No worries," Sasuke said, "I wasn't there when you woke up either." Sasuke had no idea what to say. At these awkward moments he wished Naruto was near him.

"That's because you were on life support when I woke up." Neji looked Sasuke dead in the eye.

"It was a… joke…"Sasuke sighed, "I have to go to my class. Uhm…." Sasuke was thinking on how to end the conversation: A simple 'bye' or a word of encouragement? Why couldn't Naruto be here?!

"See ya…" Neji ended the conversation for him.

Sasuke nodded and grabbed his bag before leaving the library. He didn't know why the conversation between him and Neji was so weird. It seemed since they couldn't insult, tease, or jinx one another...The only thing that remained was them talking, and neither was good at casual conversations.

Sasuke headed to his first two classes, Astronomy and Herbology, both of his teachers gave him a list with homework assignments and dates where he could re-take some of the exams. However, looking at both lists, it seemed Suigetsu and Karin were right. They were both too long and not to forget he had eight other subjects besides this. Passing the third year seemed impossible. They were walking down the stairs. Karin was walking close to Sasuke, as if she was afraid the Uchiha was going to faint any second. Suigetsu was walking ahead of them.

"It is more than I expected…" Sasuke admitted, looking at the scroll in his hand.

"It is going to be fine, Sasuke" Karin tried to reassure him. However, her words didn't sound very sincere.

"I might have to drop a few…" Sasuke muttered.

"No, your weight is fine! You might even be better of gaining a few." Suigetsu commented when he turned his head to look at his friends. Karin kicked him in the back, causing the Suigetsu to roll off the remaining stairs and fall flat on his face.

"He was talking about his subjects!" Karin roared, clenching a fist. "Don't you ever pay attention!?"

"I WAS THINKING!" Suigetsu bellowed, getting up from the floor. He rubbed his nose that was bleeding.

"That is rather unusual…" Sasuke commented, he pulled his wand out and pointed it at Suigetsu's nose.

" _Episkey_ "

Suigetsu's nose made a cracking sound as it turned 'unbroken' again. Suigetsu moaned painfully yet relieved while Karin and Sasuke walked past him to their usual spot in potions. Sasuke put his books down in front of him and looked ahead of him at Tobirama writing down ingredients at the chalkboard

"Please turn to page 384," he said. Sasuke went through his book to get to the right page.

"384, aren't we skipping a lot?" he voiced his thoughts.

"We...Uhm...We have gone through that already," Karin said. Sasuke gritted his teeth and almost ripped his book in half out of frustration. He had no idea he was so behind on everything. He leaned his head on his hand and looked at the board, watching the characteristic calligraphy handwriting of his professor. Sasuke closed his eyes for a short moment, his eyelid felt heavy; he just wanted to close them briefly.

Tobirama turned around from the board, explaining the importance of the ingredients used for the particular potion and how essential it was to enunciate the spell. He gave a few examples of mistakes that were often make and some he recalled from all his years teaching. Like how one Gryffindor student managed to burn a hole through his cauldron and that the potion reacted with the ingredients on the table and it caused an explosion. The proof of that explosion was still on the ceiling. Every student looked up at the ceiling, seeing a big, dark purple stain on it.

"Now," everybody sat up straight in their seats, trying to avoid eye-contact at all costs. They knew that was the exact word Tobirama used to start a questions.

"Can somebody tell me why, despite it being the cure for the common cold, many medics choose to let the body heal from the cold by itself instead of using this Peperrup potion?"

His eyes scanned the classroom. Karin stuck her arm high in the air. Tobirama looked over her table and cocked his head slightly. He had a questionable expression on his face.

Karin and Suigetsu both turned their heads to Sasuke, who seemed to have fallen sound asleep in their middle. His head was now resting on his potions books neither of his friends had noted and they shared a look not sure if they should wake him up or not. Suigetsu slowly pushed his leg against Sasuke, but it didn't work. Karin proceeded to poke Sasuke in the shoulder, but there was no reaction. besides him turning his head.

"Ms Uzumaki, you had your hand raised." Tobirama continued the lesson, ignoring Sasuke.

"Uhm…Yess…" She looked away from Sasuke, "It comes with a major side-effect" Karin answered, raising her voice slightly with hope to casually waking Sasuke up. More students turned their heads. Some started chuckling.

"And that side-effect is?" Tobirama asked the classroom.

"It causes steam to dribble from the patient's ears for several hours afterward!" She said.

"Very well" the potion-master said. "Try brewing this potions in sets of three. If there are any questions don't hesitate to ask."

Suigetsu looked over Sasuke before looking back at Karin.

"He might have passed out?" Suigetsu suggested.

"Don't be stupid!" She hissed, grabbing Sasuke's shoulder and shaking him roughly. Sasuke raised his head from the book and looked confused around him.

"Hu…What happened?" He asked, a piece of the book's ink was on his cheek. Suigetsu laughed seeing Sasuke's clueless face. Karin had to look away, she covered her mouth with her hand to suppress her chuckles.

"Nothing at all!" Suigetsu said, trying to keep a straight face. "Just…We gotta use the table to brew a Pepperup-potion. We didn't want to work around your head. "

"Ha very funny." Sasuke said displeased as he yawned. "Dude, I don't remember anything from this lecture." Sasuke sighed as Karin grabbed the ingredients from the shelves.

"Yeah, I do wonder why…" Suigetsu commented, looking at the piece of text-book text on Sasuke's cheek. "I am sure you know it...It is written all over your face." Suigetsu smiled at his own comment.

"Oh come on, it isn't funny anymore." Karin said. Grabbing a small pocket mirror in her bag and opening it in front of Sasuke.

"Seriously! I hate you!" Sasuke shouted annoyed at Suigetsu. He tried to rub the ink off his cheek. " _Written all over my face_! Did you hear him!" Sasuke looked at Karin who shook her head.

"It is totally normal. Your body is still healing, it heals faster when you're asleep. That is why Lady Shizune told you to not overdo it." Karin reminded him.

"This is only my third lesson…" Sasuke muttered. looking down at the textbook. "It is going to be fine….I will just...Following the instructions…" Sasuke said getting up from his chair. They prepared the potions. Karin was stirring the cauldron while Sasuke cut the Mandrake roots. Suigetsu looked at the horn of a Bicorn he ended up just throwing the entire horn in the cauldron before Sasuke added the roots.

"Did you get any closer to making that list of potential people who could have send you that warning?" Suigetsu asked.

"No...I really don't know a lot of people in the wizarding world who would warn me."

"What about family friends?" Suigetsu whispered. Sasuke looked around him before whispering to Suigetsu.

"It might be Hiashi Hyuuga. He said our families were friends and that I used to play with Hinata all the time. He is apparently been asking about me...Maybe he knew something and...Despite his hate for muggle-borns, blood-traitors and anything not full-blooded wizardry...He might just have warned me for old-time's sake?"

"Hiashi Hyuuga doesn't strike mas a type who would be seen among Death Eaters ….He couldn't have known they were coming, could they? Besides..Shouldn't he have warned Neji instead?"

"I don't know…" Sasuke sighed. He could smell a strong peppermint odor. "Hinata wasn't at Hogsmeade that day…He doesn't seem to care a lot about Neji-"

"Guys!"

"GUYS!" Karin bellowed.

Suigetsu and Sasuke both woke up from their thoughts seeing the cauldron overflowing with thick purple foam.

"Oh shit!" Suigetsu said

"I told you not to just throw the horn in there like that!" Karin shouted. The foam was dripping down the table quickly moving closer. Sasuke took a few steps backwards until his back hit the table behind him.

"Holy fuck, what did you guys do!" The student on the table behind him shouted, stepping away from their own table when they saw the foam become more.

"Professor!" Karin shouted, causing Tobirama to look up from the other side of the classroom. Sasuke could see him roll his eyes like a teenager and walk towards their table. He grabbed a bicorn horn from another table and threw it in the cauldron. The foaming stopped. In fact, it now started to reabsorb everything it had throw out.

The Slytherin trio sighed relieved, all three walking back to their table.

"What did you do?" Karin frowned while looking at Suigetsu.

"Don't look at me. Professor Senju threw an entire Bicorn horn in there like I did. It wasn't me!" Suigetsu argued. He turned his head to Sasuke.

"I did what the book said, 20 grams of mandrake roots." Sasuke knew he must have said something very strange. Both his friends looked at him like he had grown a second head.

"It says two grams!" Karin shouted, putting two fingers up to clarify her point.

"I know what I read!" Sasuke hissed pointing at his textbook. Karin and Suigetsu looked at the book. The text was smudged.

"It says 2 -POINT!- zero." Suigetsu said turning away from the book. Sasuke took a closer look at the smudged ink and felt like a complete moron, but naturally he felt like he couldn't admit it was his fault. He proceeded to fold his arms.

"Maybe, next time, when you feel tired. You go ahead and take your beauty sleep at the infirmary?" Suigetsu suggested," maybe don't screw us?" Sasuke glared at him. His words felt like a knife in his back.

"Maybe you should shut the fuck up before I break your nose!" Sasuke shouted angerly at Suigetsu.

Sasuke could see both Karin and Suigetsu widen their eyes. At first he thought it was something he had said, but he felt it was justified. Yet Suigetsu's hand covered Karin as they both slowly stepped back. It was as if he was some dangerous maniac all of the sudden.

Sasuke looked down at the silver dagger on the table, seeing his Sharingan activated. He looked back at his friends before looking back at his professor who has given him the most dirtiest look he had yet received from his most hated teacher.

"Mr Uchiha, why don't you take walk and calm down-"

"Screw you! All of you!" Sasuke hissed. He grabbed the cauldron with both his hands and flipped it over on the table.

Karin yelped hiding behind Suigetsu.

"What's wrong with you!" Suigetsu raised his voice. Tobirama remained quiet as he watched Sasuke grab his bag and leave the potion classroom without saying a word. Right when he left the door the bell rung, indicating the end of the lesson.

Sasuke headed to divination, and due to his head-start. He was one of the first to arrive. He sat down on one of the cushions on the floor and just stared in front of him. A few minutes past and more and more people walked in. He now even saw a few Slytherins step inside. They were whispering about what happened during potions. Sasuke looked up at Suigetsu who just walked inside the room; his robed has some purple stains.

"You wanna tell us what that was about?" Suigetsu asked, sitting in front of Sasuke. He sounding a bit pissed. "First you flash your Sharingan at us and then you throw over the cauldron and leave?" He leaned over the small table between them, sitting on his knees.

"What is going on inside your head is your business, but don't get Karin and me in trouble." he hissed.

"Whatever…." Sasuke said. He saw Kurenai take a seat. Her hair was significantly shorter.

"Ah, I am glad to see you have returned." She said, indicating to Sasuke.

Sasuke didn't respond to her. Kurenai immediately started her lesson.

"Karin is worried about you, you know that right?" Suigetsu whispered through the lecture. "She thinks you are hiding something. How much all of this has affected you mentally, you know?"

"For fuck's sake, Suigetsu. I don't want to talk about it!" Sasuke snapped at him. The class went quiet. Apparently a lot of Slytherin students were hoping for some more drama; an encore to their potion lesson. At least that gave them something to talk about during lunch. They had their focus on the two, causing them to fall silent much faster.

"Is there a problem?" Kurenai asked in her usually soft and dreamy voice.

"Nothing" Suigetsu said, giving a friendly fake smile before looking back at Sasuke. "So she's right?" Suigetsu whispered. "You seemed fine when we visited you in the infirmary."

"Just drop it!" Sasuke hissed, lowering his voice a bit. He continued listening to Kurenai's lecture. She held a crystal orb in one hand, her other hand hovering above it as she gazed in it, giving a vague story. Sasuke was hoping they were done with the crystal gazing, but it seems it was one of the primary uses of divination and made its return rather often. It suddenly came to Sasuke's attention that this class was stupid and by far the most useless class he had.

What use did it have to half-ass tell the future, everything was in riddles anyway! Nobody was sure what they meant. They turned to the crystal orb on their tables. Suigetsu seemed to try his best to do the assignment Kurenai just gave. Sasuke on the other hand wasn't even looking at the crystal anymore.

"Mr Uchiha, have you seen a vision yet?" Kurenai asked curiously. She seemed a bit excited even as she looked at the crystal herself.

"Nothing…" Sasuke said in a not caring way.

"Have you put all your focus in it?" She asked rather surprised.

"No, lay off me!" Sasuke hissed. Kurenai looked surprised at the rude comment, she straightened her back.

"Uhm...Dear, I just seems to me that you aren't trying," she said kindly.

"Because it's absolute crap. This entire subject is bullshit." Sasuke said. "It doesn't matter what you see. At the end it doesn't happen the way you expected it. It is vague, unpredictable and not accurate at all." Sasuke sighed. "Excuse me for wanting to drop this subject right now."

"But Sasuke," Kurenai looked rather shocked, "I have taught many students, but I have never come across such accuracy at such a young age. You have the gift of the third eye, you shouldn't suppress it because you are afraid of what comes ahead."

Sasuke frowned, hearing a few people chuckle at Kurenai's words while other gasped. It became clear a lot of students taking this subject did it to make fun of it.

"I'm not afraid!" Sasuke snapped. He got up from the cushion.

"It is bullshit. All of it! Everything you learn in this class is such a waste of time!" Sasuke shouted, "You go out there and you face a dark wizard and see how much this fucking subject helps. Can you predict what happens? Can you change the future? Can you prevent somebody from fucking dying?! No! " Sasuke grabbed the crystal orb from the table and threw it across the room. A few students had to cover their heads with their arms when the orb shattered against the wall and almost hit them.

"You're better off learning the dark- arts! That is how you can at least defend yourself against them! That is how you prevent a horrible, painful death on the filthy ground!" Sasuke shouted, kicking the wooden table upside down.

"Fuck this subject! Fuck the curriculum! Fuck this entire school! " Sasuke stuck his middle fingers in the air and walked out of the classroom, leaving a horrified Kurenai behind.

"Didn't fucking predict this shit, did ya!" Sasuke shouted and kicked the door shut behind him. "Fraud!"

He walked angrily down the stairs, clenching two fists as he was ready to punch anybody who crossed him that instant.

" _Why are you so mad?"_

Sasuke came to a stop. His eyes widened as he heard a familiar voice. He slowly turned his head to look over his shoulder. His heart skipped a beat by the sight of the friend he thought he had lost forever.

"H...Haku…" Sasuke spoke, seeing his friend wearing his yellow Hufflepuff sweater while sitting on top of the stairs. His hair was messy. His face was covered in dried blood.

 _"She is just teaching you one of the many forms of magic. You could have just told her you lost interest and drop the subject. There was no need in offending her and making a scene in her class_." He said.

"You...You died…." Sasuke spoke, shutting his eyes before opening them again. Haku had disappeared from behind him. For a moment Sasuke had thought he had gone mad. He turned his head and almost screamed his lungs out if it wasn't for the petrified feeling of seeing Haku now standing in front of him.

"You're not real! You're not real!" Sasuke hissed, covering his ears and shutting his eyes.

"GO AWAY!" He screamed and after a few seconds, he slowly opened his eyes. There was no sign of any students. Sasuke looked around him before staring at the wall filled with moving portraits.

"What are you staring at!" Sasuke shouted at them, scaring some out of their frame. However, one old man remained, looking over his half-moon spectacles.

"Even in the wizarding world, hearing voices in your head is not alright." He said in a calm voice.

"Shut up…" Sasuke hissed and ran down the stairs and inside of a boy's restroom. He quickly splashed some water on his face, trying to calm down and wake up from whatever nightmare he was in.

"It was nothing….It's a figment of your imagination. It will go away with time...It will go…Away...With time…" Sasuke whispered to himself before looking at the mirror.

There was a flick of panic by the reflection in the mirror. The face, the red eyes and long black hair hanging over his face...The resemblance he had to his brother was even becoming clearer to him now that his hair had gotten longer. He barely recognized himself in the mirror; he recognized Itachi.

Sasuke gritted his teeth as tears were welling up in his eyes. He was feeling weak and out of control: it made him angry. He couldn't seem to get a hold of his life, his emotions and his mind. His fist punched the mirror so hard the pieces scattered all over the bathroom floor. Sasuke retracted his hand, falling down his knees on the floor while holding his aching hand near his chest. Carefully he looked down ; his hand was bleeding while several pieces of glass were stuck in his flesh. He looked down at the shattered glass on the ground, seeing his hated reflection on every shattered piece.

"You are no brother of mine…." Sasuke hissed at his reflection as he grabbed the big piece of shattered glass and held it in his injured hand. His hatred stronger than the feeling of pain in his hand. He grabbed with his other hand a big chunk of hair before letting the sharp end cut through it roughly. He repeated his movement several times before dropping the piece of glass on the floor. Tears were rolling down his cheek as he sat there. His hair on the floor; his hand bleeding.

He sat there….Crying.

oxoxox

Lunch time had broken out and Suigetsu was walking inside The Great Hall. On the Slytherin table he quickly found Karin; her red hair was very easy to spot. He walked towards her and sat down.

"What a day…" He sighed, leaning his elbows on the table as he supported his head on his hands. He could see Naruto Uzumaki sitting next to Karin. Apparently he had been there the whole time.

"Worse than potions?" Karin asked.

"Divination was awful. Sasuke almost threw an orb on some students' heads! I say almost not because he didn't do it...But because they dodged it and it missed them by an inch!" Suigetsu said.

"What?" Naruto looked concerned. "First flipping the cauldron and now tripping at Kurenai's class?"

"Obviously he has gone mental." Suigetsu said.

"Wouldn't you?" Karin defended Sasuke immediately, "if your brother is the reason you were in a coma for three months and oh yeah..Your saw your friend die a horrible death. Would you recover from that in two weeks?"

"He seemed fine when he was in the infirmary? Maybe it is all hitting him now?" Naruto suggested. "All these stories…It just doesn't sound like the Sasuke I know."

"You two are morons." Karin rolled her eyes, "Obviously he wasn't fine back then either. It was just easier to hide."

"Maybe you are right," Naruto looked down at his plate. "Maybe we were all too consumed with our own grief, we didn't realize how bad he has had it these past months."

"Clearly we shouldn't be provoking him." Karin glared at Suigetsu, "keep the sarcasm to ourselves."

"Alright, Karin! I got your point" Suigetsu hissed. "we should tell an adult, right? Like...The Headmaster. That guy knows everything. The mental trauma is beyond us. Hashirama fought in a war, he knows about PTSD and shit?" Suigetsu gave his friends a confused look as they were staring at the entrance of the hall. Both had the exact same look on their face. It was one of the few moments it showed that Naruto and Karin were related to one another. They had the exact same expression on their face.

Suigetsu looked over his shoulder and saw Sasuke approach their table and it looked like he had indeed lost it. His left hand was poorly bandaged; his hair was cut, short in the back with uneven locks in the front. His eyes were red and he seemed paler than ever. This was not at all the handsome, talented wizard they had gotten to know over the years.

"Yo," He sat down next to Suigetsu. He didn't say much as he grabbed a turkey sandwich from the tray and put it on his plate before getting some pumpkin juice. Naruto, Karin and Suigetsu remained quiet, trying not to stare.

"So...Sasuke…" Naruto was the first to attempt a conversation. Sasuke looked up from his sandwich, he had this emotionless look on his face. It was almost scary.

"How are you doing?" He asked after a few second of silence. He honestly didn't know where to start and how to approach the conversation, but the silence had gotten to him so he resulted to the stupidest question that came out of his mouth. Suddenly he understood how Sasuke must have felt talking to Haku's aunt and uncle.

"I'm alright," Sasuke said shortly, grabbing his glass to take a sip of pumpkin juice.

"Are you sure? You don't look fine…" Naruto said, causing Karin and Suigetsu to give him a warning look, shaking their heads. "Sasuke I am worried...We are worried."

"I said I am fine. Drop it!" The Uchiha warned.

"So...Transfiguration is up next. Excited?" Suigetsu tried to switch the conversation.

"I'm not going." Sasuke stated, putting the sandwich down his plate. It seemed he lost his appetite.

"Are you going to the infirmary and get some rest?" Karin asked, "good-"

"There is no way I am going to make it this year anyway." Sasuke sighed, "I am almost four months behind. Why bother? I am better off repeating the year….Or dropping out." Sasuke hissed, shoving his plate away from him.

"You can't drop out." Naruto said, "You are Sasuke Uchiha, I know you can do it."

"Well I can't!" Sasuke said angrily, for a second his face showed some sadness. Naruto caught on to it fast. "I'm way behind in every subject; I am tired all the time; I am in physical pain." He stopped talking as his voice was cracking slightly. He took a deep breath, "..I can't do it… I just can't…"

He got up from the table.

"I'm sure we can fix it….We can find a way-"

"What if there is none!" Sasuke raised his voice, "you don't know what it's like. Do you have any idea what it is like?!"

Naruto lowered his eyes, perhaps at this point words of motivation was not what the Uchiha needed.

Sasuke shook his head.

"You won't ever get it ...Not until it is your brother who standing over you casting unforgivable curses at you…. Until it is you watching your friend die right in front of you while you can't even move a muscle to help him…." Sasuke looked away from Naruto, biting down his lip. "Then come to me and tell me what **we** can't and can fix." Sasuke hissed. Naruto was about to get up, but was refrained from it by his cousin's hand holding him back.

"He needs time…" Karin whispered, seeing Sasuke walk away from The Great Hall. "Believe me, the last thing he wants is for you to chase after him."

"I don't know about that...I have stopped trying to figure him out years ago," Suigetsu admitted. .

"isn't it obvious?" Karin looked annoyed, "he is scared and he is ashamed of it." She looked back at the door before shaking her head slightly.

"I should go talk to him." Naruto persisted, he got up from the table before Karin could hold him back. Naruto walked down the hall unstill he managed to catch a glimpse of Sasuke just walking around a corner. He jogged to catch up to the Uchiha.

"Sasuke, wait up!" He called out, but Sasuke didn't stop. In fact, he started walking faster. Naruto jogged towards him and grabbed the Uchiha's shoulder, turning him around.

"What!" Sasuke shouted, tears rolling over his cheeks. He quickly dried his eyes with his sleeve and turned his head away from Naruto.

"Sasuke…" Naruto said, "It's alright…"

"It is not… It is not alright!" Sasuke gritted his teeth, still not looking at Naruto. "He is out there, you know. He is still free and he is dangerous and strong and I can't win against him!"

"You don't have to. You are not alone in this fight, Sasuke. I am with you." Naruto said.

Sasuke scoffed, shaking his head.

"And what exactly can you do?" Sasuke asked, leaving Naruto rather speechless.

"Are you going prank them to submission? Feed them tongue twisters? Or throwing Dungbombs?"

"I know you are in a bad place right now…" Naruto said, feeling the words sting him rather hard.

"Oh but I am not. I'm actually seeing things clear now." Sasuke grabbed Naruto's wrist roughly, holding it up to read his palm. "Let me tell you what your future beholds, Naruto Uzumaki. It's chaos and sadness! People around you will die, I will die, you will die because neither of us can go against that kind of power and we will never be strong enough to defeat it….And once they get their hands on your body they rip that nine-tailed demon right out of you and not only are we screwed but the entire world is."

Naruto pulled his hand back from Sasuke, giving him a concerned look. Sasuke took a deep breath. It seemed he calmed down slightly after his slight outburst.

"Why don't we walk away from it all, Naruto?" Sasuke asked tiredly leaning his head on Naruo's chest, wrapping his arms around the Uzumaki's waist.

"Why can't we just leave all of this behind us. Pack our stuff and just…Travel…As far away from all of this as possible. I heard New-Zealand is nice or Indonesia?" Sasuke looked up to meet Naruto's eyes.

"You're scared, Sasuke." Naruto pulled away and held Sasuke's face in his hands, "I understand, but losing all hope in ourselves won't change anything. Running away won't change anything. You might think you have given up, but I haven't and I will fight for the both of us." Naruto sounded very determined, yet Sasuke wasn't persuaded. He shook his head and took a step back from Naruto.

"You are on your own then…" Sasuke whispered, seeing Naruto's sky blue eyes turn dark. The realization of his words sinking in.

The Uchiha bit down his lip and walked away from Naruto.

"Sasuke!" he called out, causing the Uchiha to look over his shoulder.

"I promise…I won't let them harm you and I keep my promises."

Sasuke gave him a sad smile before disappearing around the corner.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18 Jiraiya

It was the middle of the night when Sasuke Uchiha crawled out of his bed and checked if everybody inside the dormitory was still fast asleep. He was already fully dressed and only had to put his boots and black cloak on. He grabbed his rucksack and lastly picked up his wand from the nightstand. He took one last look around the room before putting his hoody on and sneaky outside of the dormitory, outside of the common room and outside of the castle. He hid in the shadows, making sure the Hogwarts' care-taker wouldn't spot him. So he had snugged inside an open classroom on the second floor and climb on a thick tree branch before climbing slowly down. From there it was easier to just stay in the dark until he made it outside of Hogwarts and into Hogsmeade. Most of the shops, if not all, were closed. Naturally nothing was open at this time of the night. Sasuke walked past Honeydukes and peeked inside through the window. They have redecorated since the day of the attack.

"Sometimes, things seem so long ago and yet are so fresh in our memory."

Sasuke jumped up from the familiar voice behind him. He turned himself around and saw Hashirama Senju, standing behind him.

"Headmaster Hashirama" Sasuke tried to hide the wand in his hand, but of course the headmaster of Hogwarts had already noticed him holding it. "I…Uhm…This is not what it looks like…"

"You are not traumatized and scared and trying to leave everything behind and walk away from your fears?" Hashirama asked, he didn't even try to sugar coat it.

"I am not scared and I am not walking away from any fears" Sasuke said determined.

"Then what are you walking away from?" Hashirama asked. He was direct, but perhaps that was what Sasuke needed right now, although he didn't appreciate it much right now.

"Nothing…Hogwarts is not for me, that's all."

"Because we teach magic, we are not forming a child army." Hashirama confirmed in a strict yet friendly voice, "Sasuke, take a walk with me."

He wrapped his arm around the Uchiha's shoulder as he guided him to the streets.

"I heard what happened during your lessons, and nobody is blaming you…" He began, "what you have been through is not some childish matter and dismissing like one is not the way to go about it. Your friends, that have fought besides you, took weeks to even be able to talk about what happened. You might have noticed Mr Hyuuga is still not quite present yet." Hashirama squeezed Sasuke's shoulder slightly.

"Headmaster…What are you getting at?" Sasuke asked. The vague way Hashirama talked was annoying him.

"Right now, things seem dark and unreasonable. Only time will allow you to accept what happened and you will be able to face-"

"For Merlin's sake!" Sasuke pulled away from Hashirama. "Every adult keeps telling me this. The darkness this, time that, healing blah blah blah!" Sasuke said annoyed, and stopped walking.

"I have seen what Itachi is capable of doing and I won't get on his level if I spend my time learning how to turn my hawk into a mug! I need to learn more powerful magic, I have to get stronger now! I can't wait to be a hundred years old before I get to be as powerful as you!" Sasuke folded his arms and stared at the ground. He felt a sudden wave of guilt for losing his temper at the headmaster. He seemed to be the only person who was trying to understand him and yet…It felt like he didn't.

"I can't whip my wand out and randomly stop a Sea Serpent without breaking a sweat. I am not like you…I actually need to work hard." Sasuke added in a whisper.

"You think I was born holding my wand and a book of powerful spells?" Hashirama asked. He didn't sound angry, but certainly the image the Uchiha had of him was disturbing to Hashirama. Sasuke didn't answer him. He felt rather mocked by the comment.

"Shall I tell you a secret? Between us?" Hashirama whispered, Sasuke gave him a rather strange look, but nodded.

"When I was your age, I was terrible at every subject but one….Herbology." Hashirama said. "Now, I didn't fight The Wizarding War with a Mandrake in my hands. It took me years to master the basics of magic before I was capable of creating my own spells and finding out the kind of wizard I wanted to be."

Sasuke looked up by the piece of new information. He couldn't imagine Hashirama, the most powerful wizard of his time, ever being bad at anything. Yet, he didn't seem like the person to lie, something must have triggered him to become stronger.

"What motivated you? To stop slacking off," Sasuke asked, looking rather interested at the headmaster.

"The only reason I even past any of my classes was because of my best friend…Who was an Uchiha." He smiled down at Sasuke," He helped me out in everything. He wouldn't let me sleep until I managed to do a summoning charm. And…When that friend was lost…I tried to get him back, and that's what made me stronger."

"Did you?" Sasuke asked after letting Hashirama's story sink in, "Did you find your friend?"

Hashirama's didn't break eye-contact when he looked at Sasuke with a sad but peaceful expression. He didn't give an answer, not right away at least.

"No…" He sighed deeply, "I wasn't strong enough."

"You ,the hero of a Wizarding War, weren't strong enough? Not even now?" Sasuke asked. "I don't know what you are getting at, but this story made me a whole lot more depressed." Sasuke sat down at a wooden bench and looked down at his feet.

"It means strength isn't everything. There is more to a powerful sorcerer than his or her spells. You, for example, outsmarted your brother by redirecting his flames. You managed to escape to Honeydukes by outsmarting him." Hashirama sat down next to Sasuke.

"So… I have to get smarter?" Sasuke questioned, looking at Hashirama. "I have to…Learn the basics before I can do more advanced spells…Before I can learn complex spells and actually get the upper hand of him. That will take forever."

"Why the rush?"

"I don't know, he killed Haku about four months ago. Who is next Naruto? Karin? Or Suigetsu?" Sasuke sighed and thought about the day he duelled his brother.

"But…I did manage to survive…Barley…with just three years of magical schooling…Itachi was about my age when he became rogue. Maybe…Maybe continuing school gives me an advantage over him. I did learn a lot in three years, nothing I ever imagined…" Sasuke voiced his thoughts.

"It is not like he would come near me again. The ministry is all over the place and Hogwarts is about the safest place there is…Because you are there." Sasuke looked at Hashirama. The headmaster gave him a fascinated look. It seemed hearing Sasuke think out loud was quite amusing to him.

"But who am I kidding? I am far behind in everything. I'll never catch up." At this Hashirama seemed surprised.

"Hasn't my brother contacted you in making certain arrangements?" He asked. "That's his department."

"No…Yes…No he did.." Sasuke said recalling Tobirama walking past the Slytherin table.

"I thought…I could do it without his help. I didn't think he wanted to see me after I flipped the cauldron in his class." Sasuke scratched his cheek, breaking eye contact with the headmaster.

"I'm sure if you apologise, he understands," Hashirama said.

"I always have the feeling that he hates me." Sasuke sighed, hugging his legs and resting his chin on his knee.

"If he had, he would have let you died, wouldn't he?" Hashirama chuckled, "My brother has just never been very affectionate. I'm his closest family and he has only hugged me about a hand full of times in our lives."

Sasuke frowned.

"Wait…Go back." Sasuke asked, "what do you mean he could have let me die?"

Hashirama's eyes widened and he realised his mistake. He shouldn't have overshared. However, it didn't seem like a big deal now that I was out there.

"Well Sasuke, you were in critical conditions. If it weren't for Tobirama you would have been dead. I would say you were legally dead for about ten seconds before he stabbed you back to life with a injection of a self-made potion. He made it on the spot. I always admired my younger brother for his brains."

Sasuke frowned, putting his hand on his chest, he remembered the stabbing sensation. He had no clue it was professor Senju who had saved him from death. That did change his perspective of his potion teachers….A little.

"Maybe…Karin is right." Sasuke said, "I should focus on my recovery if I ever want to get stronger."

"That is a wise choice."

Sasuke could feel Hashirama pat his head. "Look at that. The sun is about to rise. Isn't it beautiful? I guess time does fly when you are having a good conversation." He got up.

"I suggest you spend some time surrounding yourself with the people you love. Talk about what happened. Don't allow it to take over your life." Hashirama said.

"That is a good idea…" Sasuke looked at the sky, watching the sun rise. It was indeed beauty.

Sasuke walked back inside the dormitory and was immediately met with both Karin and Suigetsu jumping on him and hugging him tightly. Sasuke looked surprised at the both of them and they finally pulled away after a few minutes.

"We thought you walked away!" Suigetsu said, "we were about to write the aurors!"

"Never scare us like that again!" Karin said, wiping away some escaped tears from her face.

"I didn't…" Sasuke took his cloak off and threw it on his bed before sitting down. "Well, it was my original plan, but I came across Hashirama and we had a long talk. So, I am not walking away."

Karin and Suigetsu seemed both relieved at this.

"But I am going home…For a while at least. Karin, you were right. I need to take it slow and focus on my recovery. I talked to Tobirama this morning. He will arrange that I can do some home-schooling until I feel fit to come back. He said I could return at any point before the last day of the semester, but he told me not to force it and that it was alright to come back next school-year."

"How?" Karin asked, "You can't use magic in the muggle world."

"You can't use magic outside of Hogwarts." Suigetsu corrected her.

"I know, but I don't have to take all the subjects. Tobirama arranged that I wouldn't have to do D.A.D.A since I am ahead of it anyway and showed great promise during the battle of Hogsmeade. Same for Transfiguration and Charms. He suggested to drop my Arithmancy, Divination and Ancient Runes and just catch up on that during my summer breaks. No tests needed since they are extra subjects and I can drop them in the fourth year if it turns out they are too hard. Herbology, Astronomy, History of Magic and Potions are the subjects I will be taking home. Tobirama arranged for me to get some extra tutoring next school-year in the more practical matters of those subjects."

"How…How long will you be gone then?" Karin asked.

"Until I feel like a 80% again. I guess…I am not sure, I will have to talk to Obito about this. I sometimes feel he knows me better than I do myself…" Sasuke sighed and laid down on his bed.

"At least…I can get some rest.." Sasuke closed his eyes.

"When are you going to leave?" Suigetsu asked.

"Today…I have my stuff packed anyway." Sasuke said, "I am just waiting for the Headmaster. He is obligated to inform the minister of education. When that is done I can travel through the flew network."

There was a silence in the dormitory and neither one of the three said anything. Suigetsu awkwardly looking around the room while Sasuke was just lying down and Karin was just standing between their beds.

"You will write us, right?" Karin asked in a soft, doubtful voice. Sasuke sat up to look at his friend's sad expression.

"I'll try."

"We will write you every day!" Karin shouted wrapping her arms around her friend and hugging him tightly. "I am going to miss you so much!" She started crying.

"You still have Suigetsu," Sasuke tried to cheer her up but she cried harder now. It took about ten minutes to calm Karin down enough for her to wash her face in the girl's bathroom and go to her fist class. Suigetsu, who didn't have any classes the first period, stayed behind in the dormitory.

"Shouldn't you be saying goodbye to everyone?" Suigetsu asked, sitting on the edge of Sasuke's bed.

"Who is everyone?" Sasuke said, "There is only you and Karin."

"Naruto to begin with?" Suigetsu looked confused.

"Yeah…Nah…" Sasuke sighed, running a hand down his hair before looking at the sheets. "We broke-up. It was just not meant to be."

"That sucks…Do you need a hug?" Suigetsu asked. His responds caused Sasuke to throw a pillow at him. "We were together for two weeks before my crazy brother started hunting him down."

Suigetsu put the pillow away and sat back down, a tense silence filled the air.

"I asked him to run away with me…" Sasuke broke the silence, "He didn't want to. So…that was that."

"Maybe it is for the better," Suigetsu tried to cheer Sasuke up, but it wasn't really working.

"I should tell him…That I am going home, shouldn't I?" The Uchiha sighed confused.

"Do you really owe him a goodbye?"

"I don't know…Does two weeks of making out behind the potion section mean I owe him a goodbye?" Sasuke asked, "You think there is a book with laws written in them that determine what is good manners and what is looking desperate?"

"You could write one? Maybe confessing your feeling in a tunnel while facing three Akatsuki members counts as good manners?" Suigetsu nodded. Sasuke's hawk flew through the window with a little note tied to her. Sasuke quickly opened it and saw the confirming words of Hashirama. That was his cue to leave.

"I hate you, Suigetsu. I really do." Sasuke got up and grabbed his rucksack. "I will miss you, bro." He gave Suigetsu a fist bump.

"Take care, alright!" Suigetsu called after him. Sasuke stuck his thumb in the air before walking outside of the Slytherin dungeons and into the hall. He was on his way to Hashirama's office. He was staring at the ground when he could hear footsteps quickly approaching him. Sasuke looked up, but he was too late. Naruto, who was running down the halls while looking over his shoulder bumped right into him.

The Uchiha hissed in pain feeling Naruto's weight push the air out of his lungs.

"Sasuke!" Naruto quickly got back on his feet. His voice sounded surprised and somehow…He seemed to be panicking.

"We gotta run. We gotta run!" He grabbed Sasuke's arm and pulled him up with one hand.

"Naruto!" Sasuke couldn't process what was happening, Naruto was dragging him along while he was running in the opposite direction of where Sasuke was heading. A thousand thoughts went through his head. Did the Akatsuki manage to get in the castle? Was Itachi down the hall?

Sasuke looked over his shoulder and his eyes widened seeing a huge spider that was covering the entire hallway running on his eight legs right at towards.

"Naruto Uzumaki, what did you do?!" Sasuke shouted, pulling his arm back as he ran right next to him. "What is that monster! What have you done!?"

"Not a monster!" Naruto panted, pulling Sasuke inside the girl's bathroom on the second floor. They hid behind the door and both of them tried to catch their breaths. Sasuke grabbed his chest, it started to hurt again. He could feel a stabbing sensation going through it.

"We need to kill it…Or knock it out!"

Naruto covered Sasuke's mouth with his hand, pushing him slightly harder against the door. He sushed him. Sasuke slapped Naruto's hand away and gave him an angry look.

"What did you do?" He asked for the third time.

"That's a student," Naruto said, he had a little apologetic smile on his face. It seemed he found this entire situation funny. "Do you know Dokan?"

"Dokan, the sixth year?" Sasuke whispered.

"Yes, that's him now."

"Why is he a giant spider!" Sasuke hissed.

"There is a logical explanation here…" Naruto looked a bit scared. Sasuke grabbed Naruto by his collar and gave him by far the most angriest look Naruto had yet seen on Sasuke's face.

"You better say it now."

"So, it was breakfast and when Sakura and Ino passed the Slytherin table he stuck his leg out so Sakura would trip and then they he started laughing and called a mudblood."

"So you justified it by turning him into a spider?" Sasuke didn't seem pleased. "A Godzilla of a spider!"

"Well…Not entirely. I…I knew he had potions so I covered the potion door with scotch tape and when he walked in he freaked and he bumped against the a cupboard full of bottles and few fell on him and he turned into a giant spider."

Sasuke looked cluelessly at Naruto. He had no idea how to respond now. He ended up shaking his head.

"Stand back." Sasuke said, his hand reaching for the door.

"Wait, what are you going to do?" Naruto grabbed Sasuke by his arm to prevent him from walking away.

"I am cleaning up your mess." Sasuke pulled his arm back from Naruto.

"I don't think you understand; He is a giant poisonous spider." There was strangely enough a smile on Naruto's face. It felt like he thought of this as one big joke.

"And right now you turned a teenager with anger management problems into a death trap! One person has to give him a funny look and they are gone and he is in prison and you are suspended."

The smile in Naruto's face faded as it seemed the reality hit him.

"This is what you do, Naruto. You are impulsive and you don't think twice about the consequences of your actions. This. " Sasuke pointed at the door, indicating what was looking for them behind it, "is what I was talking about."

"I don't need you to clean up my messes. I can do it myself." Naruto defended himself.

"You were running away! Your solution was running away!" Sasuke raised his voice.

"Which is part one of my master plan, dattebayo!" Naruto argued back.

"Why don't you tell me step two?" Sasuke folded his arms.

"Hide in girl's bathroom." Naruto walked backwards, indicating around him.

"And what was step three?" Sasuke asked he still had a pissed off expression on his face. He let go of the door and walked towards Naruto who kept walking backwards away from the door. At this point Sasuke noted he was trying to make a lot of distance between them.

"Hide." Naruto softly said. "And wait for the problem to solve itself and hoping nobody knows it was me."

Sasuke opened his mouth to say something. To scold him, to scream at him to lecture him. However, he closed his mouth and turned away from the Uzumaki. Somehow this responds felt worse to Naruto than an hour long scolding for his actions. It felt like that on that particular moment, Sasuke Uchiha gave up on him.

"Wait!" Naruto could see the Uchiha look over his shoulder at him. His eyes were empty, trying to hide his emotions, but Naruto could tell he was disappointed. He felt his throat get numb and his conscious was shouting a hundred things to him, things he was suppose to say. However, none felt good enough, none of the words were actually coming out of his mouth.

The door of the girl's bathroom got kicked open. Sasuke had to bend down as the door flew right over his head on to the ground. The palps of the giant spider made their ways in the small door trying hard to grab on to somebody. Sasuke could feel the palps grab him and pull him right outside of the bathroom. He was dangling Sasuke upside down in front of his mouth. His eight eyes staring at him. His chelicera were moving and there was a screeching sound coming from his mouth. Sasuke's eyes widened by the sight of the fangs and he felt adrenaline pump through his veins. His eyes turned into the Sharingan as he looked right at the spider's eyes. There was a moment where the spider didn't move; as if he was petrified, but then he started running and screaming. He was jumping up and down, walking up and down on walls and dangling Sasuke around like he was a dog-toy. Sasuke tried to grab his wand, but due to the worst rollercoaster ride he was experiencing, his wand slipped right through his fingers and on to the ground.

Somehow, it felt better to have died in a tunnel than by a giant spider who used to be a student. The spider got attacked from behind and he jumped, turning around at the fourth-year Gryffindor who had his wand pulled out.

"LET HIM GO, DOKAN!" Naruto bellowed through the hallway. He swung his wand around and transfigured the spider's fangs into marshmallows. The spider ran towards him.

"Run, idiot!" Sasuke shouted, he felt his breakfast coming up by all the dangling he did. He covered his mouth with both his hands. It seemed the Space-Mountain Ride in Disneyland was a whole lot better than being held hostage by a student transformed into a spider.

Naruto didn't run, he just stood there, waiting. As the spider was close enough he swung his wand and shouted: " _Petrificus totalus_!" A big orange beam sprung out of Naruto's wand and powerful enough to cover the entire spider.

The eight legs sprang together and he froze on the floor. his palps instantly let go of Sasuke, throwing him in the air. Naruto ran backwards and held his arms out. Sasuke fell right in them; he looked up, trying to process everything that had happened. He turned his head to Naruto, their eyes met and Naruto smiled at him. The Uchiha's face looked pale.

"I got you," Naruto said. Sasuke suddenly turned his head away and barfed right on Naruto's shoes. Naruto looked ahead of him, not wanting to see the gruesome sight of his shoes being vomited under.

"I'm so sorry…" He could hear Sasuke softly whisper.

"I deserve it, don't worry about it." Naruto said, however he felt a little disgusted. He put Sasuke down on the floor and swung his wand, causing water to appear and wash the barf off his shoes. He turned to Sasuke who was leaning against the wall, he seemed very nauseous.

"Are you alright?" Naruto asked, approaching him.

"I haven't felt this sick since the day I ate too much fried food before riding the Pendulum." Sasuke sank through is knees to sit down on the floor.

"What is a Pendulum?" Naruto asked curiously, but he didn't get an answer. They looked at the spider that turned smaller and back into the student it once was.

"How did you do that?" Sasuke asked looking impressed at Naruto who was slowly shaking his head.

"That isn't me…" Naruto said, looking at the Slytherin Sixth year on the floor. He seemed to be able to move again. His eyes were shut and he rolled to his back. He seemed to be in a deep sleep.

Sasuke got up, standing next to Naruto while looking at Dokan. Maybe the combination of potions had worn off?

"It was I…"

Both Naruto and Sasuke turned around by the unfamiliar voice. Naruto pointed his wand at the strange man; he was tall and well-built with fair skin. He had a wart on the left side of his nose and waist-length, spiky white hair that was ties back into a pony tail while two shoulder-length bangs framed his face. There were red lines under his eyes which extended down his face. He was wearing a green short shirt kimono with matching pants and a red haori with two yellow circles on each side. He finished his outfit with a black belt and wooden sandals.

Naruto looked at Sasuke. The Uchiha shook his head slightly, indicating for Naruto to not let his guard down around the strange man that appeared out of nowhere.

"Who the heck are you…Or..What the heck are you?" Naruto looked suspiciously at the man.

"They know me as the Mountain Toad!" the man said with a big grin on his face. He whipped his hair back and stood in a pose he probably considered to be cool, "a spirit sage who acquires immortality, also commonly called the Toad Mountain Sage!" He struck a more dynamic pose now, showing his teeth in his smile.

Once again Naruto and Sasuke shared a look before looking at the weird man.

"And what…Exactly...Are you?" Naruto scratched his hair, narrowing his eyes. He didn't understand anything the man had just said.

"I am an author!" The man said, reaching in his pocket and grabbing a small travel sized book going by the name: " _Make Out Paradise_ "

"'ve been there, dattebayo-" Naruto suddenly hissed in pain when Sasuke pushed his elbow in his guts. He quickly tried to compose himself.

"That's the book Professor Hatake keeps reading. The perverted one" Naruto recognised it before getting a better look at the cover," You're a pervert if you wrote that." Naruto commented, lowering his wand slightly.

The Mountain Toad Sage swung his fist around walking up to Naruto with an angry expression on his face.

"You fool! I'm not just a pervert!" He shouted, but stopped mid-way when he looked at the Uchiha's eyes. They were activated in the Sharingan. He lowered his fist, trying to compose himself.

"You are no Mountain Toad Sage… You are more a Pevert Sage." Naruto lowered his wand.

"Naruto, don't let your guard down." Sasuke told him.

"He is just some pervert. I don't think there is much special about him. Probably just passing by." Naruto whispered, covering his mouth from sight with his hand.

"I am one of the three legendary sanins! The defeater of Hanzo and the most legendary author in the world!" The man struck another pose again. Sasuke frowned by this. Somehow that description sounded semi-familiar

"Wait a second…" Naruto now put his wand away, causing Sasuke to give him an angry look.

"I know you! You are Jiraiya! I read about you on one of the chocolate frog cards!" Naruto pointed an accusing finger at him, "You didn't defeated Hanzo! You are just one out of three to have survived him in a duel."

"Well…" Jiraiya stood back straight, "You hadn't heard of him after we duelled him. So in a way…We defeated him."

"So you are an auror?" Sasuke asked.

"One of the best!" The man said, pointing his thumb at himself.

"Then you must know my dad Mi-" Sasuke covered Naruto's mouth before he could say anything.

"You are a perfect image of your father. If he is telling the truth he would know your father's name." Sasuke said looking back at Jiraiya.

"You are Fugaku's son, aren't you?" Jiraiya had a small smile on his face. Sasuke didn't answer. He only glared at the man. "Naruto, your father's name is Minato Namikaze. I actually trained him."

Naruto's eyes widened and he grabbed Sasuke's arm, squeezing it tightly. The Uchiha deactivated his Sharingan.

"Holy shit, you are master Jiraiya!" Naruto seemed to suddenly recall the man. "The master Jiraiya! My dad has me told all about you when I was a kid!"

"Oh," Jiraiya didn't even try to be humble, he had a proud look on his face, "Oh did the old man forget about his old teacher."

"No, I just stopped paying attention." At those words Jiraiya pride was hurt and it was clearly visible in his face. "Everybody thought you were dead. Nobody has heard of you in fourteen years! Dattebayo!" Naruto's eyes turned into mini-stars, shining brighter than the night sky as he looked at the men. He approached him and was talking so fast, Sasuke couldn't blame the men for wanting to shut him up. However, it seemed he liked getting the attention.

"What are you doing here?" Sasuke interrupted Naruto, causing a silence to fill the hall. "You did come out of nowhere."

"Sasuke.." Naruto indicated for him to stop interrogating the former Auror. Jiraiya didn't seem to mind.

"Kakashi Hataka left his post as Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. I have been asked by the headmaster to fill his position until he can find a replacement for the role." He had a serious tone in his voice.

"I was just heading to the headmaster." Sasuke said, seeing Jiraiya maintain a straight face. It seemed he wasn't lying.

"Don't forget this," Jiraiya held Sasuke's wand in his hand. "I found it down the hall, near the girl's bathroom. Not that you will be using it much, but I did learn over the years that it is saver to keep your wand close at all times."

Sasuke approached the man and took his wand back.

"Why wouldn't you be using it?" Naruto asked, turning his head around to Sasuke.

"Well," Sasuke felt a bit nervous. He was supposed to go to Hashirama's Office and used to flew network to go home. He hadn't told Naruto…He didn't even want to say goodbye to him. It all felt so awkward and uncomfortable and he wished he could just vanish from the spot.

"I'm going home for a while," Sasuke said.

Naruto frowned slightly.

"Wait…You were on your way?" He asked, "You didn't even come to tell me you were leaving." He had a sad expression on his face.

"And I was right not to. It wasn't even my intention to bump into you and yet I ended up almost being spider-food!" Sasuke snapped.

"I'm sorry, but it wasn't my fault he suddenly went mad! At first it seemed he was pretty conscious of what he was doing and the next second he wasn't."

Both boys glared at each other.

"Have you recently acquired your eye power?" Jiraiya asked curiously. Sasuke ignored the man, but Naruto answered: "during the battle of Hogsmeade, about four months ago...which would be one month for Sasuke because he was in a coma for like three."

"So you are not so familiar with the abilities of the Sharingan? I suspect you unconsciously put your opponent in an horrible illusion and he was reacting to it. That's why he went mental." Jiraiya explained. It seemed he wasn't so dumb as Sasuke thought he was. The man was thinking deeply, tapping his index finger on his chin.

"Could you put me in an illusion where I am on the beach surrounded by beautiful busty woman-"

"No!" Sasuke snapped, "and I don't need you teaching me about my own abilities! You're not my professor! I bet Hashirama has told you I won't be attending your classes very soon!" with these words Sasuke stormed off. He grabbed his rucksack and trunk which he had dropped on the way and finally arrived at Hashirama's office.

 **Note: There will be less/slower (if none at all) updates in January due to exams**


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19 Uchiha Residence**

Sasuke Uchiha shot up when he woke up from a nightmare. He was panting slightly while sweat had piled up on his forehead. He looked around the dark room, the digital clock said it was five thirty in the morning. The nightlight next to the bed got turned on and Obito sat up.

"Nightmare?" He asked, putting a hand on Sasuke's shoulder. He nodded before wrapping his arms around Obito and hugging him tightly. It was like Obito was a shield keeping any harm from happening to Sasuke.

"It's alright...You're safe," Obito reassured Sasuke, he gently stroked his back to calm him down. "You want to talk about it?"

"It was Haku…" Sasuke admitted the brutal images of his death popped in his head again. "And Itachi…" He added, seeing the disturbing images of how his brother standing over him with his wand pointed at him, casting one of the three unforgivable curses, the cruciatus curse.

It had been five months since the attack in Hogsmeade, the battle where Haku lost his life and Sasuke ended in a coma for three months. Once he woke up...It seemed like a completely different world...a much darker one. He had tried his best to not let it bother him, but getting over the traumatic event was harder than he had imagined. After two weeks and a mental breakdown at school, he had made arrangements with Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry so he could try finishing his third year out of the comfort of his home. He can still remember it all so clearly. He never knew he could ever mis his friend so much and above all, Naruto.

He hadn't heard anything from Naruto since he had stormed out on him. A part of him regretted it and wished he could have just reasoned with him. However, he was too proud to even consider sending Naruto an apology. Suigetsu and Karin wrote him weekly, telling him about their time at Hogwarts; most letters were about gossips and who jinxed whom. Sasuke, unfortunately, hadn't responded to any of their letters. Every Time he tried...He wasn't sure what to write to them. How the trauma was still haunting him, or how he woke up every night from a nightmare and was too afraid to even sleep alone? It was always too depressing and he figured it was better to not send any letters than let them know how weak and miserable he was.

"I can't sleep…" Sasuke sighed opening his eyes again.

Obito made a confirming sound. He sat up and looked at the digital clock.

"I suppose I had to wake up soon anyway," he said, pulling the blankets off. He stood up, stretching himself out as he yawned.

That was another thing Sasuke felt bad about; he had been keeping Obito up too, and he had an important job to get too, being a detective and all. Obito never seemed to complain to, having wasted all his vacation and sick days to stay with Sasuke. Even if it did bother him, he did a great job hiding it.

Obito had taken a quick shower and was now walking around the house, wearing his pyjama bottoms and a towel around his shoulders. He headed downstairs but he suddenly froze when he saw the lights of the kitchen on while a bunch of sounds were coming from it. It took a short moment to let his guard back down, he headed to the kitchen and raised a questionable eyebrow when he saw Kakashi in a light pink apron with picture of a bulldog on the front.

"Good morning, hubby!" Kakashi said cheerfully. A few plates were levitating behind him and he was holding a coffee mug that said _'#1 detective'_.

"How the heck did you get inside my house?" Obito asked. Of course, he knew the answer to it. Kakashi could use the flew network and 'teleport' inside the house any time he felt like it. It was a major invasion of privacy, but Obito got used to it in the three months the wizards visited randomly to check on him. It was hard on Obito to see Sasuke in critical condition with so much uncertainty for his life…It felt like he was losing Rin all over again. Only difference was that Rin battled cancer while Sasuke got fatally wounded by his biological brother that massacred his entire family. Oh, and they were wizards.

"What?!" Kakashi looked offended. It woke Obito up from his thoughts. Kakashi let go of the mug that then levitated in the air, he put his hands on his hips. "You know, Obito! When somebody makes you breakfast a simply ' _thank you'_ would suffice. None of this ' _how the fuck did you get inside my house'_ stuff!" he scolded.

Obito rolled his eyes and just grabbed the coffee mug that was flooding towards him.

"It's too early to shoot you," he joked, running his hand down his wet hair before taking a sip of the coffee. He looked surprised, the coffee wasn't bad at all. He sat down on the small dining table adjacent from the kitchen.

"So why are you here? Message from that wizarding school?" He asked after putting the mug down.

"I'm just checking up," Kakashi said, leaning on the counter as all the magic did the work of preparing breakfast for him. "How is he doing?"

Obito looked over his shoulder at the door to make sure Sasuke was still upstairs.

"Not so good," Obito answered. "I think he might have PTSD, but it is too early to tell."

"And then they wonder why the ministry obliviated him the first time Itachi Uchiha murdered a bunch of people in front of him… Can we just imagine how he would be if he remembered the massacre?"

"Can't they obliviate him now?" Obito suggested. "He seems miserable."

"I think he should remember." Kakashi said, sounding very seriously all of the sudden. "Knowing what his brother is capable of is the only way how he can stay aware of him. It might actually help him become a stronger wizard."

"Isn't that the job of the wizarding police? Catching criminal. It is not the job of a thirteen-years old?" Obito shook his head. "You magic folks maybe wanna get your shit together."

"You muggles have no clue what we are dealing with-"

"We?" Obito quickly caught on to that, "you are back in the wizarding police force?" He asked.

"Wow...You are good at what you do," Kakashi smirked, straightening his back. "Well, we genuinely believe the muggle world is safe of dark wizards. However, The Ministry has send me to keep an eye out."

"And you took it? A bodyguarding job?" Obito asked, surprised. "Seems below you."

"I figured I know the kid and I am a teacher...Might as well help him with school" Kakashi said. "Spend time with his single foster dad." He wiggled his eyebrows.

"Yeah right," Obito smirked slightly. "You know, going through all that trouble and going back in the force…Kinda makes me think...You care about Sasuke, don't you?" Obito picked up his coffee mug again but kept his eyes glued at Kakashi as he eyes him from the corner of his eyes.

"Well, I be damned Obito." Kakashi pretended to be offended again, "I am good teacher and I love all my students equally: Sasuke, Karin and…." He looked at his hand, "Sugateyou"

"Totally" Obito laughed. "I think it's cute." A small smile spread across Obito's face when he looked away.

The conversation couldn't have died out at a better moment. Right when there was a few seconds of silence, Sasuke walked inside the living room and saw Obito sitting at the dining table. He looked a little confused; it was odd that there were sounds coming from the kitchen while Obito, the only other inhabitant of the house, was not even in the kitchen. Obito indicated to the kitchen. Sasuke slowly walked towards it and he was about to scream by the sight of Kakashi. Not out of fear...Out of frustration. He felt a pancake fly inside his mouth and he quickly shut up.

"Goody, you're awake!" Kakashi said teasingly.

Sasuke swallowed loudly before pointing an accusing finger at Kakashi.

"What are you doing here?!"

"Both of you have no manners." Kakashi crossed his arms and looked from Obito to Sasuke.

"Why are you wearing an apron while you magic does all the work?" Obito asked. "It is not like your clothes get dirty."

"Why don't you have a shirt on?" Kakashi argued, "one might say you knew I was coming."

"One might say you are intruding!" Sasuke interrupted them, but he got a glass of orange juice pushed in his hands before he was being blasted off; he landed on one of the chairs. The orange juice still in the glass, unspilled. He looked across the table to Obito.

"Yeah...I stopped caring," Obito admitted when he saw the boy give him a very annoyed look.

"So, I didn't know what type of breakfast you guys usually have so I made a bit of everything!" Kakashi said, sitting down on the table as everything flew towards them. There was a plate of bacon, one with eggs, there was a pile of pancakes and some homemade waffles.

"We usually have cereal…" Obito said.

"No…No.." Sasuke shot Obito a look, "This is what we have every breakfast. We always have a feast for dinner too. You know, if you want to make tonight's dinner too."

Obito chuckled and shook his head, before a certain realisation popped in his head.

"Say, you know you're a wizard for three years now and you never bothered using magic to make dinner?" Obito indicated to the kitchen.

"We're not allowed to use magic outside of Hogwarts." Sasuke protested, feeling like an incompetent wizard for not knowing any of the spells Kakashi used to make this meal.

"Tell that to that teacher that fell through the window because you made the glass disappear." Obito commented.

Sasuke poked his fork in his food and didn't speak for a moment. He didn't have to protest on.

"So, what are you doing here?" he looked at Kakashi, "and who gave you that horrible apron?"

"Well, I bought this at a muggle gift shop. As for your first question, I figures you could use some help with your subjects."

"But I thought you quit being an teacher? Didn't you hate kids?" Sasuke asked, leaning back in his chair as he took a sip form the orange juice. He was balancing the chair on it's bag legs before feeling a force push it back on all fours. No doubt that was Kakashi. He shot him a glare. It wasn't fair Kakashi was allowed to use magic while he wasn't.

"Wait...We didn't have orange juice in the fridge." Obito remembered, looking down at Sasuke's glass.

"I know. I made this from fresh oranges." Kakashi turned to Sasuke and put up his fingers, "Your vitamins are important."

"But we didn't have oranges either," Obito whispered.

"Always asking questions, aren't you?" Kakashi folded his arms. "I still haven't gotten that _'thank you'_."

"In his defence, that is like 80% of his job," Sasuke mentioned

"That is how we actually catch the bad guys." Obito said with a smirk on his face.

"Oooohh burn!" Sasuke said giving Obito a high five.

"Yeah you go live in that ignorant muggle world. Where everybody can catch a bad guy when they own one of those metal-ball-shooting thingies."

"And nobody is stopping you from changing your sticks to metal-ball-shooting thing." Obito got up from the breakfast table.

"Wouldn't that be bad if every wizard and witch carried a gun?" Sasuke asked. Obito stood still. Sasuke had made a good point.

"Go be witty in your essays." He said indicating to the pile of books.

"Ugh...Fine…" Sasuke leaned his head on his hand, looking already bored. He looked at Obito leaving the living room and heard him climb up the stairs. He was getting ready for work.

"It's like Tobirama purposely picked all the boring subjects." He sighed deeply, " I guess it doesn't matter, I am not allowed to use magic outside of Hogwarts anyway."

Kakashi gave the young boy a small, not-so-innocent, grin. The devil was written all over it.

"You don't know, do you?" He asked with a smug expression, leaning in slightly.

"I don't know what?" Sasuke asked.

"Do you have any idea how The Ministry knows when a minor uses magic?" Kakashi asked. Sasuke shook his head. He had never wondered, he just thought they knew.

"They have a charm on every wizard or witch that's a minor. The charm disappears on the day of their 17th birthday."

"Yeah... I heard the Hyuuga' are allowed to use magic within the Hyuuga district. Unfair."

"The Uchiha' never got that charm casted around them." Kakashi interrupted him.

Sasuke dropped his fork on the table. He suddenly remembered Naruto's words about how some wizarding families thought they were above the law and got privileges such as using magic outside of school. He figured since the Uchiha' were dead and not a threat to The Ministry, the Uchiha' no longer fall under that category, but perhaps...He was wrong.

"It's because of the Sharingan." Kakashi explained, "it is controlled by strong emotions and gets detected by the charm. That is how The Ministry got a lot of false alarms, too many actually. So, that is why they never put the charm on an Uchiha again."

"I could have used magic outside of school this entire time?!" Sasuke looked surprised.

"Yes, but I should probably mention how the Uchihas were a very honourable and proud clan. They obeyed the laws despite this." Kakashi added. He got up and took his apron off before it vanished into thin air. The dishes flew off to the kitchen and were cleaning themselves under the sink.

"So, what subject you wanna do first?" Kakashi asked as the books flew towards the table. Sasuke sighed at the sight of them.

"I guess History of Magic…" Sasuke sighed, the book opened on the correct page. "I really do not care about the Goblin Wars."

"Alright," Obito walked downstairs, he ruffled up Sasuke hair before placing a kiss on his cheek. "I am off to work." Obito said. Sasuke just quickly nodded.

"Don't forget your lunch," A lunchbox flew out of the kitchen to Obito. It was pink and had little pictured of dogs covering it. Obito grabbed it from the air and examined it. He looked up and saw Kakashi suddenly standing in front of him, leaning his head in, waiting for some form of light affection. Obito seemed doubtful at first, but gave in; he placed a quick kiss on Kakashi's cheek.

"Have a nice day, hubby!" Kakashi said waving at Obito who walked, rather fast, out of the house. Kakashi looked back at Sasuke, who didn't look impressed.

"Pathetic…" He said he felt a force, bending his neck back down to the book.

"You keep reading about those Goblin Wars." Kakashi said.

A few hours had passed as Sasuke finally closed his book and stared at the TV. Kakashi had been very fascinated by most of the muggle stuff. He managed to almost cause the microwave to explode and to break the stereo. He was now on the couch going through the channels of the TV.

"Hey, go back." Sasuke said, getting up from the table and walking up to the couch. Kakashi looked at the remote and it soon became clear to Sasuke that Kakashi was actually just pressing random buttons. Sasuke walked to the TV and manually went back to the news channel. There was a wanting picture of a rather ugly looking man. He was an elderly short man with odd proportioned; his shoulders were very broad and his arms overlong. His eyes were almost black as for his hair was grey and long, covering his dirty looking face.

They were saying he had escaped from an asylum and was highly dangerous. The police requested all citizens to not approach the man and call the authorities as soon as possible.

"I know that man," Kakashi said. "He is in Azakaban."

"The wizarding prison?" Sasuke asked, "what is he doing on the muggle news if he is a wizard?"

"He somehow managed to escape. Chances are he is planning on sticking around in the muggle world since the chances of getting recognised are slimmer. Much like you have been put in the muggle world so the chances of your brother, snatchers and dark wizards finding you became very small."

Sasuke looked back at the TV before looking at Kakashi.

"You're comparing me with ugly over there?" He asked, indicating to the screen.

"It's like you are family," Kakashi joked, indicating to the mugshot on the TV.

The phone rang and Kakashi jumped to his feet; his wand was pointed at the general direction of the ringing sound.

"That's the phone!" Sasuke said, trying to hide the phone behind him so Kakashi wouldn't throw a spell at it and break that too.

"What's a phone?" Kakashi asked, not lowering his wand.

"It's…It's…None of your business," Sasuke said annoyed.

"Make it stop." Kakashi demanded, as if the unknown noise scared him. He covered his ears with his hands and sat back down on the couch.

"No, I am not picking it up." Sasuke could see Kakashi's grip tighten around his wand and he eventually gave in. He picked up the horn.

"Uchiha residence…" As soon as he spoke he had dropped the phone on to the floor. His eyes were widened and it seemed he had gotten a mini-heart attack from the screaming female voice on the other side of the line. Even Kakashi could hear it all the way across the room.

"HALLO! THIS IS KARIN UZUMAKI! I AM CALLING TO TALK TO SASUKE! SASUKE UCHIHA!"

Sasuke slowly picked the phone back up. He could hear Minato's voice on the end of the line, telling Karin that she didn't have to scream. Karin asked him how else Sasuke was supposed to hear her. Minato tried to explain the concept of a telephone, but Karin kept interrupting him with questions that were rather ridiculous. Sasuke started to chuckle, causing the other end of the line to quiet down.

"Sasuke?" Karin asked, she wasn't screaming anymore.

"Yes, it is me…It's me." Sasuke said and turned to Kakashi. "It's Karin. I gave her the phone number. I figured she could get a phone through her uncle. " He said with a smile on his face. He still found the situation funny.

"Couldn't she use the fireplace like normal sorcerer?" Kakashi finally hid his wand in his cloak.

"I guess it is a good thing I didn't tell her about Skype," Sasuke said, he put the phone against his ear.

"Who's Skype? You got a dog named Skype!? Where?" Kakashi asked. Sasuke shook his former teacher off by rolling his eyes.

"Do you hear barking?" Sasuke hissed, "Idiot".

"Sasuke, can you hear me through this thing?" Karin asked. She sounded worried. "Suigetsu and I haven't heard from you at all this past month…"

"Yeah…I am sorry about that," Sasuke said, walking out of the living room and into the backyard. It appeared Kakashi had found the volume up button on the remote but couldn't figure out where the volume down button was. Sasuke closed the door behind him and kicked the football that was lying on the grass. It was sunny outside; the sky was bright blue with some many clouds.

"It's alright, Sasuke. Suigetu and I both get it. We were just very worried." Her voice sounded by far the kindest it had ever been. It made Sasuke feel guilty.

"So, you figured out how a phone works," he tried to change the subject. He knew the Easter break had come and Karin and Suigetsu were both back home now.

"Well, I asked uncle Minato about it. Turns out he had it lying in one of the boxes in the attic. Together with a machine he called a CD-player and ten seasons of a show called F.R.I.E.N.D.S, apparently it was something very big in the muggle world."

"That is true," Sasuke said even he had seen all ten season several times with Obito.

Karin's call couldn't have come at any better moment. For the first time, Sasuke had something to talk about. How Kakashi intruded the house and wore a pink dog apron. Karin managed to slip some information about Naruto when she started the talk about how her holiday has been. Apparently Jiraiya had been Naruto's godfather which he was very much unaware of until his father had told him a few days back when Jiraiya came to visit. This information was somehow never mentioned to Naruto before; not even his parents had told him this. The reason for it was that neither Kushina or Minato had ever given it a second thought since the day they declared Jiraiya his Godfather. Now Naruto had been training under the former auror and was taking his role as a Jinchuriki more serious. Sasuke asked what they were exactly doing in these training, but Karin didn't seem to know any details.

"Speaking of the demon's vessel," Karin suddenly interrupted her story mid-way. Sasuke's heart made a jump hearing Naruto's voice in the background; "What are you holding?" he had asked with a slight annoyance in his voice.

"It's a telephone," Sasuke could hear Karin's voice fade slightly away, "You wanna say hello to Sasuke?" she asked. In short she very poorly explained the concept of a phone, but she somehow made it sound like she had invented it.

"I don't believe you," Naruto said, "What'll happened? I hold it and it turns in a poisonous scorpion, dattebayo?"

"Then don't have the audacity of greeting the person who saved you from capture, idiot." Karin said. Sasuke could hear a slight arguing between them, but couldn't make much out of it. Somehow Karin's words felt lwrong and hit the Uchiha in the wrong way. It made him sound like he protected Naruto from being captured to spare the wizarding world from the claws of the Kyuubi. However, the reason he let the tunnel collapse and fought the Akatsuki was because the thought of them injuring Naruto hurt him more than the cruciatus curse could ever inflict.

It was when Karin placed the phone near her face again when he was able to hear her clearly again.

"Where have you been, anyway? Going out with your Godfather?" Karin asked in a teasing voice.

"What? Are you jealous I have the coolest Godfather in the world?" Naruto's loud voice was probably shouting across the room.

"I'm Karin's Godfather…" Minato said in a soft voice.

"Sorry dad, but you're are kinda lame." Naruto apologised in a not so apologetic way. "Compared to Pervy-Sage."

"What do you even do with him? Drool over the girls neither of you can ever get?" Karin sounded like a stone cold bitch for a second. A unfamiliar emotion takes over Sasuke. Jealousy? Hatred? It was almost a mixture of all negative emotions.

"I should probably hang up," Sasuke said, and as soon as he had spoke he could hear Naruto yelp.

"That sounded like Sasuke! Karin did you shrink Sasuke and put him into that plastic purple thing!" Naruto shouted.

"No, Naruto, that is not how telephones works." Minato said. He started explaining the concept of a telephone to Naruto now, unlike Karin,he didn't interrupted him all, but he didn't seem to get it either.

"Do you have me on speaker, Karin?" Sasuke asked, still capable of hearing Minato talk in the background.

"What's that?" Karin asked. Sasuke decided not to bother to explain it, but he did have to be a bit more careful talking to Karin, knowing Naruto and Minato could both hear him.

"Never mind," he said.

Karin continued to talk on about her Easter break and how Suigetsu was going to Egypt during the break. Sasuke stopped listening to her for a while ago. He just made the occasional confirming sound; that was until she mentioned The Quidditch World Cup. That took Sasuke by surprise. He had forgotten all about that. Naruto had promised Suigetsu and him tickets for helping out to free all the animals he had hoarded inside The Room of Requirement. It was the same day they had shared their first kiss on top of the mountains when they freed the Hippogriff. Sasuke was taken back to that moment, everything seemed so perfect. If anybody would have told him his life was about to take a full twist, he wouldn't have even believed it.

The idea of staying with the Uzumakis and go with them to The World Cup would had sounded like the ultimate dream. Not only would he for the first time since he could remember be surrounded with wizards and witches in a village dedicated to the magical worlds, he would have been with Naruto, enjoying the sport they both liked to play. But, that wasn't the case anymore. Naruto and him weren't together and even when their time together was short, it was enough to make Sasuke feel extremely awkward just by the idea of being around Naruto or his family.

"Uhm…I don't know, Karin…" Sasuke said, causing her stop talking immediately.

"What do you mean you don't know?" Her voice sounded strict and loud, like she was scolding him for even considering to not attend. "It is The Quidditch World Cup. You and Suigetsu were talking non-stop about it for weeks!"

"Well…" How was Sasuke going to tell Karin he felt awkward being around Naruto after they broke up. He only knew the one excuse he had used for several years to get out of any events that included his peers.

"I am not allowed to go…From Obito." He said.

"Why?!" Karin raised her voice, "Have you told him it is a once in the life time opportunity! Don't these muggles understand! Here's what you do. You take your wand and you Imp-"

She got interrupted by Minato for a moment. It seems he lectured her on her manners towards Sasuke's legal guardian. He made very clear that just because he has no magic doesn't mean his authority is any less. Sasuke appreciated his intervention, he didn't feel like getting in an argument with Karin.

"Can't you talk to him, uncle? Convince him to let Sasuke come?" Karin asked with such a kind innocent voice. It like she wasn't being a bitch three second ago. Sasuke could only assume it was an act to get Minato's sympathy. "He has been through so much and this could really make him very happy-"

"it is quite alright, actually!" Sasuke was quick to interrupt her. "Besides…Once Obito has set his mind to something there is no arguing with him."

That was a complete lie. Obito was very fair in that particular area. He always allowed Sasuke to plead his case. He often plead his own and convinced Sasuke why some rough decisions had to be made from time to time.

"But…You were so excited to go…." She whispered.

"Well….I'm not such a big fan of quidditch anymore. I haven't played in a while and it seems dull now anyway. I guess it was really the hype of flying that got me interested." He lied convincingly.

He could hear the end of the line go quiet. He felt the need to change subjects.

"But you know…You could come to the muggle world anytime you like? There is not much…Well…There are some things…" Sasuke admitted thinking of Disney Land. There were a ton of movies he should let Karin watch, he was sure she would enjoy them.

"I am not allowed visit the muggle world." She sighed.

"Why? Isn't it a life time opportunity?" Sasuke used her words against her. She gave a small chuckle, but it sounded forced.

Sasuke could hear the volume of the TV get louder which made it sound like there was a house party inside the living room.

"I got to go, Karin. Kakashi is wrecking the house." Sasuke said, turning the phone off before walking back inside. He grabbed the remote and muted the sound.

"There is literally only two buttons you have to press!" Sasuke said turning the sound down before indicating the buttons clearly on the remote. "That's all you are allowed to press." He handed the remote back at Kakashi who had an expression of a kicked puppy. It made him feel bad and he sighed deeply.

"Wanna watch the ultimate muggle show?" Sasuke asked Kakashi, who nodded.

Sasuke sat down next to Kakashi and pressed the 'Netflix' button on the centre of the remote. He started the first episode of F.R.I.E.N.D.S and put the remote on the table before leaning on the arm of the couch. This must have bee the fourth time he re-watches this. He can't remember exactly when, but somewhere between the fourth or fifth episode he had drifted off the sleep.

When Obito got home he was met with the sight of the two wizards sleeping on opposite sides of the couch, while the TV was still running the old show. He smiled kindly towards them before wrapping a blanket around Sasuke and kissing his head. He wrapped another blanket around Kakashi and hesitated for a second. He ended up bending down and kissing Kakashi on the cheek. He backed off quickly when he heard Kakashi move slightly. Obito sighed relieved when his eyes remained closed and he headed to the kitchen, unaware of Kakashi secretly opening his eyes and following him till he was out of sight.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20 The Red House**

Sasuke Uchiha was sitting on top of a mountain hill, looking down on a village that was so far away that it appear so small it could fit in the teen's hand. He could see the locals walking around the shops looked like ants to the Uchiha. A bit further away from the village was a hill where a unique red house was situated. It had a small wooden barn build next to it and right behind it laid a barrier of trees, indicating the forest that was physical boarder, separating the wizarding village from the muggles lurking outside. Sasuke wondered who lived inside the red house, it was bigger than the surrounding houses, but it still looked just as cosy as Obito's two bedroom house.

The sun was setting and a breeze made the branches of the tree, where Sasuke was leaning on, shake, causing a bunch of cherry blossom paddles to move with the wind and fall towards the village. Sasuke opened his hand where one of the light pink flowers fell right on to. He smiled softly, closing the palm of his hand before opening it again. The flower inside was now dried out and dead.

The Uchiha's smile faded and he ditched the dead flower before looking back at the village. Shops and stands were closing, people were making their way back home.

"You did always ran up here when you were feeling angry," A voice came from next to Sasuke. The young Uchiha looked up at the man he recognised slightly. He seemed to be in his late teens, he wore a black cloak and a mask covering the upper half of his face.

"It's you…You came in my dream once before," Sasuke whispered. He remembered the odd dream he had once in his second year of Hogwarts. One where he was woken up abruptly by Suigetsu. It was a long time ago, but it was such an odd dream that Sasuke didn't forget about it. He looked away from the stranger and hugged his legs while leaning his chin on his knees.

"You must be my conscious or something….In my head you sound more like Obito," Sasuke commented. The stranger chuckled softly and sat down, leaning his back on the big tree trunk. A silence emerged, Sasuke turned his head around, assuming the masked man was looking at the landscape like he was, but his eyes were on him the entire time.

"You're not at Hogwarts," the stranger announced, Sasuke wasn't sure if he was asking any questions or if he was stating a fact.

"My conscious shouldn't be asking me questions that has nothing to with my morals," Sasuke noted.

"I'm your…Dream-pall. Dream-palls aren't up to date with everything going on with your life." The man said, "but we want to."

Sasuke scoffed and leaned back, "Have I become so pathetic my brain subconsciously made an imaginary friend?"

The man cracked a smile, but started coughing all of the sudden. He covered his mouth in his elbow. Sasuke could see a hint of blood on the stranger's lip before he wiped it off quickly.

"You're ill," Sasuke noted. "My imaginary friend is dying."

He lowered his gaze to the grass and sighed, thinking of Haku.

"Much like my real ones…." He muttered under his breath. "There is so much going on. So many people I want to protect, but it's beyond me. I don't know what is going on or what I am doing…Meantime I know something is wrong and it isn't safe…And…I am not strong enough…I can't do anything."

"There is a lot wrong with the wizarding community as it is right now. There is no denying that," The stranger said.

"There the whole Jinchuriki thing, the pure-blood hagiarchy I don't understand, there is the Akatsuki, the Death Eaters and there is my lunatic brother out there trying to kill me! Meanwhile, I have no idea who I can trust! I didn't trust Neji and then he risked his life protecting the person I care about while I should be trusting The Ministry who didn't do jack shit!" Sasuke raised his voice angerly.

"Not to mentioned I am afraid I am not good enough and I am disappointing everybody. I was supposed to be this protégé! But I am barley an average wizard. Then there are my friends who I don't know how to talk to anymore without being a total bummer and I broke up with the person I love deeply and now I don't even know how to be in the same room with him without feeling like…Without feeling like…" Sasuke gritted his teeth, clenching his fist.

"Feeling like what?" The masked man asked calmly.

"A coward!" Sasuke shouted after struggling to admit it, the words echoed before fading away. Sasuke could feel a hand gently grab his shoulder.

"I don't think you are a cowards, Sasuke" The man said in a suiting voice. "You are just a kid. None of this should have been part of your life….But life doesn't look at age or fairness for that matter." The man sat closer, wrapping his arms around Sasuke to hug and comfort him.

"The many mistakes made by the previous generations are now the problems of this generation. The wars that were fought, the broken system, the fear people live in-"

"You're not comforting!" Sasuke snapped, trying to break free from the stranger's grip, but the man just pulled him back in.

"But I believe you can return peace to the wizarding world and bring and end to the dark ages."

Sasuke pushed himself now effectively away from the stranger, giving the man an angry look.

"Did you not see me get my ass kicked? What kind of Dream-pall are you?!" Sasuke hissed, "I've been in a coma for three months! I almost died by the hands of my brother who slaughter an elite clan of wizards and witches by himself! He was thirteen! I am thirteen?! All I can do is almost die!" Sasuke shouted. "Believe me, I would have died if it weren't for Tobi-fucking-rama. Now I have to be grateful to him and I don't freaking like him! Why couldn't they just let me die! I didn't have to deal with all of this." Sasuke glared back at the man, "I didn't have to deal with you!"

"I never said you had to do it alone," the stranger said, a small grin spread across his face when he looked into the distance. Sasuke looked at what the man was staring at and saw that he was looking at the red house, the one that had caught Sasuke's attention too when he first saw the sight. It seemed the stranger knew who lived in the house and somehow seemed to link that person to Sasuke. The young Uchiha gave the man a strange look, not fully understanding his concept.

"Magic is all about balance," the man spoke, "Darkness and light. Yin and Yang. The moon and the sun. You can call it whatever you like. I think the power you look for is the power to compliment yours…To complete it." The man explained, bringing his hands together as an illustration.

"Some of the most powerful wizards came in duos. Ashura and Indra, Slytherin and Gryffindor, Hashirama and Madara..."

Sasuke was thinking deeply before looking back at the masked man.

"Hashirama is still around. Why can't he do it if your theory is correct. " Sasuke asked.

"Hashirama isn't Hashirama without Madara," The man spoke, confusing Sasuke so much he couldn't voice his thought. He just glared at the stranger.

"You'll get it," The man assured him.

"You believe I am next in line?" Sasuke scoffed.

The stranger didn't say much as he picked up the dead flower from the ground before the wind swooped it off his palm. Sasuke stared at it realising what the man was telling him.

"You think I am the darkness? The Ashura, Slytherin and Madara of this equation?" The young Uchiha looked offended.

The stranger cracked a smile. It seemed he knew something Sasuke did not and it amused him.

"Time will give you the answer, Sasuke." The man said, getting up from the grass. "I don't think you need to wait very long." He said, looking down the hill.

"I'm glad to have spoken to you, Sasuke." The man said disappearing in a black fog, leaving a confused Sasuke behind.

"W-wait!" He shouted trying to grab the man, but he wasn't fast enough. "Are you real?!" Sasuke shouted, getting up from the ground and looking around him for the stranger. "Where you the one who wrote me that note! Who are you!?"

Sasuke could hear his voice echo around, and it seemed he was all alone once again. He looked around at the village, looking back at the red house.

Who lived there?

Sasuke's eyes shot open and he almost head bumped Obito in the face before screaming and rolling off the couch on to the floor. He could hear laughter coming from Kakashi, but Sasuke couldn't laugh at all. He rubbed his head that had hit the floor and sat up, looking at his surroundings. He was in the living room. He had probably fallen asleep on the couch again, it has become a habit to take a one or two hours nap in the afternoon.

"Are you alright?" Obito asked helping Sasuke up from the floor.

"yes, just…startled," he admitted. "You were hovering over me, you scared me."

"I was putting a blanket around you. You looked cold," Obito said, throwing the blanket on the couch now.

"It is mid Augustus, Obito? It is 25 degrees Celsius outside. Who is cold?" Sasuke commented.

"You were shaking a little, I just thought you had bad dream or something." Kakashi noted, he was sitting on the dining table, finishing his cup of tea before putting it down. Sasuke was about to tell him about his dream and the strange masked man, but something caught his eye. He saw a third cup of tea on the table.

"Did somebody came over?" Sasuke asked, pointing at the third used cup.

"You have Obito's observation skills" Kakashi said, "But you do have my sense of humour."

"Stop acting like we are a nuclear family!" Sasuke raised his voice slightly.

"Your vice principle visited-"

Sasuke's eyes widened by Obito's words.

"- we were going to wake you, but you were too sweet to wake up" Obito pinched Sasuke's cheek, causing the young Uchiha to look annoyed.

"Those were Tobirama's words, paraphrased." Kakashi lied sarcastically.

"It wasn't anything too important. Just about your return to Hogwarts. Really boring actually."

Sasuke nodded, not wanting to ask any more questions and not caring for any answers right now. He sighed. The end of the summer break was nearing, in two weeks the new school year would begin. He had been spending his summer break catching up with Arithmancy and Ancient Runes, but they were his most boring subjects. His summer hadn't been the usual fun it was, but Kakashi and Obito made his rather dull life bearable. All the rest he got did made him recover almost fully, but he still didn't feel the same as he had before the battle of Hogsmeade. At this point he wasn't sure if that came from injury or if it was a mental state he was in.

"I spoke to Minato yesterday," Kakashi started a conversation, he waved his wand and a cup of hot tea appeared in front of Sasuke. The Uchiha stared at the steam before holding the cup. It seemed all the cups in the house had some moving dog picture on them now. They were awful, but…Kakashi liked them and Obito didn't protest. Kakashi was talking about his meeting and it appeared the only one who was listening was Obito. Sasuke glared at the moving dog on the cup that then ran off to the back of his mug, but it was when his name was mentioned that he looked up and saw both Kakashi and Obito look at him.

"What?" Sasuke asked, taking a sip from his tea.

"Why did you tell Mr Namikaze you weren't allowed to go to The Quidditch World Cup?" Obito asked. Sasuke's eyes widened, it seemed his lie had finally caught up with him. It turns out Karin had persuade her uncle enough to convince him to get involved anyway.

"I just didn't want to go. Too crowded." Sasuke quickly said, "I sort of used you as an excuse to not come off ungrateful," he added, looking at his foster dad.

"Really?" Kakashi asked, "You couldn't shut up about The Fire Ferrets and The Lighting Panthers during my classes."

The Fire Ferrets were the national Quidditch club and most of the team consisted of graduates of Hogwarts. As for the Lighting Panthers, they were an oversees team where mostly graduates of Ivermory had made the team. It made the match not only between two countries, but also between two top notch wizarding schools.

"Because the Lighting Panthers are going to crush the Fire Ferrets because they have the fastest seeker in history. Darui has caught the snitch every game till now! He is unbeatable! The Fire Ferrets have to change strategy, but noooo~ they put their fate in Hoheto Hyuuga, who despite having the Byakugan lost two matches! He has nothing against Darui's speed! Sure he might spot the snitch faster, but who is going to actually catch it – I tell you who- Darui!"

Sasuke sunk down his chair and folded his arms.

"But…Whatever…Naruto is still rooting for them and their faulty formation." He added and sighed deeply.

"You seem very passionate about Quak-isch-"

"Quidditch!" Both Kakashi and Sasuke shouted at once when Obito mispronounce the name of the popular wizarding sport.

"I am not telling to go if you don't want it" Obito said, "But if it were me, I would take the opportunity to go watch a Word Cup with my friends. It does seem like a once in a life-time opportunity. Besides, I trust the Uzumakis. They are good people."

"Minato and Kushina are taking a lot of wizard and witches living in the muggle world: Sakura, Lee, Ino and Tenten. I think Kiba and Hana are even tagging along with the Uzumakis-"

Sasuke was about to interrupt him, but Kakashi indicated he wasn't finished talking.

"I know you don't care about that, but just imagine...Poor Karin, dealing with all these morons on her own. She is going to crack if she can't whisper her insults and sarcastic remarks to her dear friend."

Kakashi made a good point. Karin and Suigetsu had been standing right by Sasuke's side through his difficult period. Even away from Hogwarts the two hadn't failed to write him almost every day with the latest gossips and happenings. Suigetsu was going to go with both his dads, leaving Karin to sit among all of Naruto's close, idiotic, friends she could barley bare.

"That is true…" Sasuke said. "But it is rather late now. I don't want to bother the Uzumakis last minute-"

The fire of the fire place lit up and both Sasuke and Obito jumped out of their chairs. Obito pushed Sasuke behind him and it was just when the fire cleared up that they recognised the two adults entering the room.

"Good evening," Minato said, dusting his clothes off.

Both Obito and Sasuke turned their heads to Kakashi who sat there with an smug look on his face.

"Convincing you took me a little more time than expected." Kakashi got up and pushed Obito away before grabbing Sasuke and pushing him towards the fire place. Sasuke bumped into Kushina who quickly grabbed him by his shoulders before he could lose his balance and fall down. Sasuke turned himself around, looking confused towards Kakashi who whipped his wand out and made Sasuke's backpack appear out of thin air. He pushed it in Sasuke's arm before shooing inside the fire place.

"I am so glad you could pick him up! He's all packed and excited!" Kakashi quickly said to the Minato as he grabbed a hand full off floo powder and threw it right at Sasuke's face, forcing the young Uchiha to shut his eyes and cough.

"Have a great stay with the Uzumakis, you little cock-blocker" He said to sasuke

"Wait-what?! NO!-" Sasuke tried to protest, but it was too late. The green flames lit up around him and he was being sucked down a giant drain. He felt like he was spinning around very fast, the roar in his ears was deafening, he tried to open his eyes and all he could see were green light behind his teary eyes, something hard knocked his elbow and he tucked it in tightly, still spinning and spinning. The next thing he knew he fell face first on the hard wooden ground that was now covered in ash.

"Dear, are you alright?" He felt Kushina grab him by his upper arm and pull him easily up with one arm. "You're covered in ash, ya know." She licked her thumb and was rubbing a grey spot on Sasuke's cheek. Sasuke backed off and turned his head around to the fire place.

"I have to go back!" Sasuke said almost panicking.

"Did you forget something?" Minato asked calmly, stepping out of the fireplace. He didn't look as dirty as Sasuke had. There was probably a certain skill required to come out spotless…Or perhaps…Kakashi throwing the powder in Sasuke's face caused him to be the most dirty out of the three.

"No, but Kakashi is making to moves on my foster dad!" Sasuke said seriously, "I have to stop him before he...He becomes…Foster dad number two…Dear God no…He would want to be called papa" He whispered imagining the scenario. In his head he could picture his nightmare and he had to shake his head to push the thought away. No wonder Kakashi was pushing him to leave. It had nothing to do with Sasuke or the 'once in a lifetime opportunity'. He just wanted Sasuke out of the picture to get some alone time with Obito. Of course, he shouldn't have expected anything less from his former teacher. He was the former head of Slytherin house and clearly was capable of manipulating anybody around him.

Kushina and Minato were both laughing at Sasuke's words. They didn't seem to take his concerns too seriously. Minato eventually calmed him down by asking if Kakashi had even the slightest shot…He made a good point. Sasuke came to a less panicking state and he grabbed his backpack from the ground, dusting it off.

"That foolish Kakashi again, He didn't even send us to the right fire place, ya know!" Kushina complained to Minato. She indicated to the pub they were in, but nobody seemed to batch an eye at the three suddenly appearing form a fire place. It was like it was the most normal thing to these people.

"Blessing in disguise, Kushina. An evening walk is always nice. Besides," Minato turned to Sasuke, "I don't think Sasuke wants to use the floo network again for a while."

Sasuke nodded as he still tasted ash in his mouth. He looked around him and saw a rather crowded pub with all its costumers being witches and wizards. He followed Kushina and Minato outside of the pub where the pleasant night breeze hit his face.

"It is only a small walk from here," Kushina assured him, "then you can take a bath and we can have dinner. All your friend have already come this morning."

Sasuke didn't respond to this. In his entire life he only had made two friends; Karin Uzumaki and Suigetsu Hozuki. It seemed Kushina somehow assumed all of Naruto's friends that were invited by the Uzumakis to the Quidditch World Cup, where also his. That, of course, was far from the truth.

"This is the first time in the wizarding village, isn't it?" Minato asked, seeing Sasuke look around him. The place felt so familiar. He looked over his shoulder at the view of the mountain hills, on top of a rather big one stood a big tree, a tree that looked too familiar to Sasuke.

"It is really amazing. It is different from where muggle lives but also sort of similar. You should stay over longer some time. Then you can really see. Tomorrow is going to be a long day, we will have to wake up very early to use a portkey towards the Quidditch stadium. We will be staying there after the match and take a portkey back first thing in the morning.

"What's a portkey?" Sasuke asked.

"Wizards who cannot Apparate, you know, dematerialise and reappear at will, who wish to travel by daylight, meaning that broomsticks, Thestrals, flying cars and dragons are inappropriate, or whose destination has no fireplace, rendering Floo powder useless, will have to resort to the use of a Portkey. Almost any inanimate object can be turned into a Portkey. Once bewitched-"

"Bla bla bla!" Kushina interrupted her husband, "I love you and I married you, hell, we have a child together, but honestly this is not your essay in the Goblin Wars, ya know!" She turned to Sasuke, "It is just and object that you touch and it brings you to your destination. That's is it." She informed Sasuke.

"May I remind you, you stole my essay on the Goblin Wars." Minato said with a bitter expression on his face that did not go unnoticed. "If it weren't for my essay you would have failed History of magic. So…You're welcome." Minato said, grinning towards his wife.

"Oh right," Kushina wrapped her arm around Minato, "If it weren't for me you would have been the next 30-year old virgin."

"40 year old virgin." Sasuke corrected the movie reference Kushina tried to use.

"Yeah or a fifty year old one!" Kushina said, it appeared she had no intention of referencing a movie.

"You're welcome!" She said while laughing. Minato seemed to quickly accept defeat, but this didn't seem to bother him at all. He shared a smile with his wife.

They walked up the hill and further away from the wizarding village. When they reached the top, Sasuke looked surprised when he saw the red house from his dream. It was much bigger up close. The lights were on and Sasuke could hear laughter coming from inside.

"Welcome to the Uzumaki mansion," Minato said, indicating to the red-bricked-mansion. There was a huge landscape surrounding the house and there was wooden barn situated in it.

"Make your self at home, dear" Kushina added. They were about to walk on the three steps, leading to the front door. However, the door swung open and Sasuke felt his heart skip a beat when his eyes locked immediately with Naruto's. His mouth was open, like he was about to say something excitedly towards his parents but was struck silence when he saw Sasuke.

Both fell silence, staring like at one another like neither of them could believe the other was standing right in front of them.

"Sasuke," Naruto spoke a smile appearing on his face.

"Hey…I came…" Sasuke said, looking awkwardly away from the intense blue eyes. Naruto jumped forward and embraced Sasuke tightly. The young Uchihas cheeks heated up and he carefully wrapped his arms around Naruto.

"I'm so glad to see you, dattebayo!"

"Me too."


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21 The Quidditch World Cup**

The sun was just rising when the dining room in the Uzumaki Mansion was filled with sleepy and yawning teenagers that wanted nothing else but to climb back inside their beds and sleep for at least another three hours. Sakura had her head on Ino's shoulder who was leaning her head on that of Sakura. Both their eyes were closed and it seemed they were almost dozing off. Kiba had his head on the table while Tenten was resting her chin on her hands, closing her eyes for a long time every ten seconds. The only person who seemed to be pretty upbeat was Rock Lee who was full of energy. Sasuke was sitting back in his chair with his arms folded over his chest as he was staring blankly at the table, fighting the urge to close his eyes. Karin was sitting next to him and, just like Kiba, had her head resting on the table.

Last night they had been up till midnight. It was strange, but they all got along quite well, despite their differences. For Sasuke, it was nice to talk to people who understood what it was like growing up in the muggle world and adjusting to wizard life. It appeared Sakura, Lee and Tenten had a lot in common with the Uchiha. They all had funny stories of discovering their magic too.

Sakura had told about her first showing of magic and her life as a muggle-born Metamorphmagus. She had been dragged to doctors who had no idea what was wrong with her and they tried to research her but quit after a while. (Only later she came to learn that The Ministry of magic had obliviated all of them to forgot all about her). The other children in her neighbourhood had bullied her for being ' _weird_ ' and ' _strange_ '. She had tried to suppress her powers until she met Ino. The girl from the flower shop down the street. Ino's father is a full-blood wizard from the Yamanaka-clan, but he fell in love with her muggle-mother and locked his wand away to be with her in the muggle world. Ino had told Sakura she was a witch and stood up for her against any bullies. The knowledge of what she was caused Sakura to become more stable and control the changes in her appearance. That was unless her emotions took the better of her, this was often seen by the colour of her hair that changed with every strong emotion.

Tenten, much like Sasuke, had strange coincidences happen around her. From objects falling out of nowhere to closing her eyes and appearing on the roof of the house out of nowhere.

Lee on the other hand, had no idea he was magical until he received his Hogwarts letter. The oddest thing that had ever happened to him was seeing his shoe lace was loose and kneeling down only to see it was suddenly tightened in a knot. Magic didn't come as natural to him as it had to the others. He struggled a lot with performing spells, causing him to put three times the effort of a normal student in his school work. It felt very discouraging when people assumed he was bad in magic because he was a muggle-born. He was now personally getting tutored by Guy. Lee might not be the best in performing spells, but he was excellent on a broomstick and was the backbone of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team, he even made captain this year. He is probably the youngest one in ages. He was just staring his fourth year this September, just like Sasuke.

"I told you, youngsters, to go to bed early." An upbeat Kushina walked outside of the kitchen as a bunch of plates flooded on the table, followed by some silverware.

"Because it is the crack of dawn," Karin yawned, forcing her head up as she rubbed her eyes. "Why do we have to get up early? Why aren't Nagato, Hana and uncle Minato awake yet?"

"Because Minto is going to apparate there with Nagato and Hana. They don't have to go by portkey like you minors do."

"I don't have that charm around me that bans me from using magic under the age of seventeen. Does that mean I can go back to sleep and just apparate with the others?" Sasuke asked, turning his sleepy head towards Kushina who ruffled up his hair in Sasuke's great displeasure.

"You might be an Uchiha, but you will still get fined when The Ministry catches you."

"But I am rich…." Sasuke muttered under his breath thinking of the Uchiha vault.

"It will literally cost you an arm and a leg," Kushina said putting her hand on Sasuke's shoulder and squeezing is slightly. Sasuke swallowed loudly, it seemed she had heard him after all.

"Why don't you tell Naruto breakfast is ready? Some fresh air would wake you right up" She said as her sister came out from the kitchen carrying a plate with sausages as some other plates filled with food flew towards the table.

"Ok," Sasuke got up.

"He is right down the hill, you can't miss him if you just follow the path," Kushina yelled after him.

Sasuke left the house and walked down the steps. The sun was shining and it seemed today would get pretty warm, but luckily right now he could still feel the cool morning breeze hit his face gently. He walked down the hill, but came to a stop when he spotted something slithering on the grass. It seem to have come from within the woods and was now hidden in the high grass around the barn.

Sasuke looked at the direction he was supposed to go, but somehow….He was questioning the creature that snug up on him from the woods. He took a step towards the barn and held his hand around his wand that was inside the pocket of his jacket. The creature, that seemed to have been standing still, now moved quickly across the grass. Sasuke, not knowing exactly what was coming, pointed his wands towards the grass until the creature erected and revealed itself. It was a snake, that was about a meter long and perhaps as thick as Sasuke's wrist. It was the same colour green as the grass, but what was most notable were the big fangs.

Sasuke looked confused towards it. It wasn't attacking him, it almost appeared the creature was bowing down to him.

" _This is weird…_ " Sasuke said out loud, he could see the snake lift up its head and look at him, as if he understood him.

" _You're not going to bite me, are you_?" Sasuke asked, slowly lowering his wand. The snake shook its head and Sasuke put his wand away and was staring in awe. He had never seen an animal that could communicate with him before.

" _You can understand me? You must be a magical snake_ ," Sasuke concluded.

" _I have never withnessssseed a human sssspeaking to me_ ," the snake spoke.

" _That's because I am wizard"_ Sasuke stated. " _You must have only seen muggles, people with no magic. There is a magical village nearby. Full of people like me_."

" _I've ssseeen witchessss and wizzzardssss…They don't talk..."_ The snake spoke. "I've felt an attraction towardssss thisss placccee. Ssssoo I came-"

" _You must have not talked to many sorcerers then_." Sasuke looked over his shoulder to the path that he was supposed to be following.

" _I have to go before breakfast gets cold. I'm not much for small talk anyway._ "

Sasuke walked away from the snake, following the path down the hill where he could see Naruto practicing with Jiraiya. He saw the old man casting spell after spell and Naruto was doing his best to defend himself from them. He was doing a good job, but Jiraiya was very skilled and Sasuke could see one of the spells hit Naruto right in the stomach. He fell through his knees, his arms wrapped around his stomach as he groaned.

"Cover all bases, Naruto. Multitasking is key" Jiraiya said, lowering his wand. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine…" Naruto forced his lips to smile, "I had worse!"

"Let's call it a day-"

"No, I can still go on!" Naruto shouted as he got back on his feet and picked his wand up.

"You're determined, I can see that, Naruto." Jiraiya said with a smile on his face, "but we have company now." He looked at the corner of his eye and made direct eye contact with Sasuke.

It was not like the Uchiha was doing anything illegal or embarrassing, but he still felt his heart jump slightly at the man spotting him so quickly.

"Your mom send me to fetch you for breakfast," Sasuke said quickly to Naruto.

"You better hurry, you don't want to make your beautiful mother angry," Jiraiya smiled. Naruto nodded and picked up his orange mixed with black jacket from the grass and put it back on. He jogged towards Jiraiya and gave him a fist bump before running up to Sasuke.

"See ya in a day, pervy sage!" Naruto shouted, waving at the old man.

"Oi, don't you call me that! Especially not in front of people! You little brat!" The man shouted, swinging his fist angerly. Although, Sasuke noted a hint of amusement in the man's facial expression. He walked next to Naruto, who seemed extremely happy for somebody who was just hit in the guts.

"How is the training going? It seemed rough," Sasuke asked his eyes fixed on Naruto who had his hands behind his head and was casually whistling with the birds.

"It is going pretty well actually. Pervy-Sage really knows his combative magic." Naruto had a kind smile on his face. Sasuke had no idea how much he had missed seeing that idiot's face until this moment.

"I see, if you keep it up like that you will make it pretty hard for me to kick your ass during duelling club this year." Sasuke tried his best to keep the conversation going.

"Haven't you heard? Duelling club has been cancelled." Naruto stated, lowering his arms and looking at Sasuke with a sympathetic expression. It seemed they were both reminded of Sasuke absence last year and the reason why.

"How so?" Sasuke asked, duelling club had been one of the best things about Hogwarts, besides Quidditch.

"The Ministry didn't like it. They said it looked like Hogwarts was training children for a none existing war. Tobirama was really trying, but Hashirama gave in. Didn't want to get in trouble with Danzo. "

"none existing war?!" Sasuke raised his voice, feeling angry.

"We were all pretty upset, but dad explained Danzo is….Well…A person you don't want to have on your bad side. He didn't go into much detail." Naruto sighed deeply, "I'm sorry, I thought Karin had told you. She had been writing you almost every day."

"Yea, but…She didn't say." Sasuke said, looking down at the ground.

"I think she wanted to spare you from worrying." Naruto tried to cheer him up. Sasuke didn't say anything as he just looked away from him.

"How are you liking the wizarding world?" Naruto tried to change the topic. "Is it very different from the muggle world? Lee and Tenten couldn't believe their eyes when they first arrived. They got to go to the actual village since they arrived so early. Maybe if you stay after the game I could show you around town too" Naruto said excitedly.

"I would like that," Sasuke said, locking eyes with Naruto. "It all feels a bit familiar, but there were things surprising me too. I had no idea how many magical creatures live around here."

Naruto nodded in agreement.

"There are so many in the forest just behind the house! My mum build me the barn so whenever I find a couple of injured ones I could threat them in there. It is good the creatures live inside the forest. They keep the muggles from coming too close. I think most muggles say the forest is haunted."

"I never met an animal that could talk before. It was really surprising hearing a snake talk-" At these words Naruto's expression changed and he looked confused.

"Snakes don't talk," he said conformingly, trying to laugh it off as if Sasuke was making a joke.

"The one I saw did. It had a whole conversation with me." Sasuke said. "It must have been a magical one."

"I'm pretty into magical animals, but I have never heard of a magical talking snake. Are you sure Kiba wasn't pranking you?"

"Affirmative, it didn't sound like Kiba."

"Then it must have been either a regular snake who you were imagining talking to or you have discovered a whole new species of magical creature in the backyard," Naruto joked.

"I know what I heard. Why would I be making it up?" Sasuke frowned. Naruto stopped walking and looked at Sasuke. The Uchiha also came to a stop and turned around to look at Naruto.

"There are stories of people who can understand and talk to snakes." Naruto said, putting up a spooky voice like he was telling a horror story to a bunch of children, "They say speaking to snakes is the mark of a dark wizard. There only two known people who went so deep into the dark arts they became Parselmouths. One is Herpo The Foul an Ancient Greek, dark wizard going as far as committing cannibalism. The second one is Salazar Slytherin one of the foudners of Hogwarts himself. They say the ability was passed down to his children who passed it down to theirs. It said his line survived till now, hundreds of years later. The last of his kin are The Gaunts. A pure-blood wizarding family who don't breed outside their own, desperately trying to keep their blood-line as pure as possible. They say they have become insane after generations of inter-breeding. There are probably only two pareselmouths lefT. One had brutally killed his wife and ended up in Azkaban, the other is Orochimaru, the dark lord who suddenly disappeared after October tenth fifteen-years ago, presumed dead by The Ministry. Although his followers active and loyal and there many who say he just waiting for something his didn't have the last time."

Sasuke looked disturbed at Naruto's words, but didn't say anything.

"So Sasuke, where you really recovering at home or did you secretly become a master in the dark arts or are you secretly the heir of Slytherin?" Naruto grinned. Sasuke, however, looked bit pale after hearing this.

"I'm just messing with you, Sasuke. There is no way you have a drop of Gaunt blood in your veins. You are as Uchiha as they come…Or is they...Came?" Naruto seemed to be thinking of the wording while he started walking again. Sasuke stood frozen before shaking himself awake and jogging to catch up with Naruto.

"What makes you so sure?" He asked sounding a bit doubtful.

"Because the Gaunts are pretty ugly." Naruto said.

"But…But…" Sasuke thought back of the snake. Had he imagined the whole thing?

"…I probably just didn't get enough sleep…" Sasuke sighed, shaking his head.

"Could you imagine it, though? Descended of Madara Uchiha and Salazar Slytherin. Brother of Itachi and related to Orochimaru? You would be the definition of evil."

"Hey! You have a Nine-tailed-Demon-Fox inside you?" Sasuke snarled back.

"I remember, the Nine-Tailed-Demon-Fox doesn't let me forget that any time soon." Naruto said. Sasuke was surprised by this.

"You mean…Does it like...Hurt you?" Sasuke asked just when they reached the door of the house.

"No, he is sealed away. But he can talk a lot of shit." Naruto said, like it didn't even bother him at all. Before Sasuke could ask any more questions the door was pulled open by Kushina who was frowning slightly.

"It's a five minute walk. What took you two so long? The eggs have gone cold." She scolded, like she didn't have the magic to heat them back up.

"Talking snakes, mum." Naruto joked as he stepped inside. "They are becoming an epidemic outside."

"Ha. Ha. Very funny!" Sasuke said angerly as he stepped inside. "You want to get to the World Cup alive or not?" he walked behind Naruto towards the dining room.

Naruto abruptly turned around, leaning slightly in to Sasuke so his smug grin was very close to the Uchiha's face.

"If anybody kills me right now I will come back at ghost and I will haunt you. You think Peeves is bad? Wait till my ass becomes a ghost."

Sasuke pushed Naruto's face away, passing him towards the dining table as he grunted over how stupid the blond was.

"Did the snakes tell you that?!" Naruto called after him, laughing. He sat down and started poking Kiba awake with his fork.

"You know what, next time I see a talking snake I'll it to bite you." Sasuke grabbed some toast and smearing some jam on it.

" What's all this about a snake?" Karin asked and before Sasuke could shook the conversation off, Naruto started telling everybody about the ' _magical talking snake_ '. However, the only one finding it funny was Kiba while Karin just stated it was impossible. Tenten, Sakura and Lee didn't seem to have much to say about the matter as they weren't familiar with the concept.

"Wait, wait. What makes you all so sure he is not even a little Gaunt?" Ino stated, amused by theorizing the story.

"The Uchihas clan is way older the Gaunt family," Naruto informed her.

"Pretty boy ain't no Gaunt. They were super ugly!" Kiba said, "With those crossed eyes and odd proportions!" He said indicating broad shoulders and Gorilla arms.

Sakura's seemed to put two and two together when the description seemed to trigger her memory.

"Hey!" her loud voice brought immediate order on the table. "I saw somebody like that on the news! Some lunatic that escaped from a mental institute."

"Hey yeah, I remember!" Tenten added. "Some weird looking old man. But that was a muggle."

"Actually he is a wizard. He apparently escaped from Azkaban. He's very dangerous so The Ministry put a warning out on the muggle news because there is a big chance he is hiding out in there to avoid capture" Sasuke explained. "That's what Kakashi told me, anyway." At this many gave him a strange and questionable look.

" He is been staying with me….And he's hitting on my foster dad." Sasuke quickly tried to explain, " It's pathetic, really. But he did help me pass my classes so I am not complaining."

There was no responds from the table.

"…I'm a little complaining…'" Sasuke added softly.

Now a whole other topic was discussed by Sakura and Ino who loudly talked about how it would be if their Head of House would stay with them. The idea seemed to scare them both. Tenten and Lee quickly added they wouldn't mind to have Iruka around as he was very helpful and kind. Naruto added his two cents by saying the idea of Tsunade staying longer than a few hours terrified him. Kiba eagerly agreed with him.

Soon it was time to get up and get ready for a rather long walk towards the Portkey. All the way up front of the group, Kushina was taking the lead while talking to Sakura and Ino. Behind them walked Tenten, Lee, Kiba and Naruto. They all seemed pretty excited and they were loudly talking about what they expected to happen during the match. Walking in the back were Karin and Sasuke. Midway they met up with Shikamaru, Chouji and both their dads. They were going by Portkey too and they continued the rest of the way together.

They arrived at the middle of an empty field. Sasuke could see nothing else but a traffic sign lying there. He was confused why there was even a STOP sign in an open field with no cars nearby for kilometers. He was told to hold and not the let go. This confused him slightly and he felt regret for not hearing Minato out when he was explaining the concept of a portkey to him yesterday.

Sasuke had used some methods of wizarding transformation until now. He felt the sensation of apparition once, he flew on the back of a Hippogriff, flown on a broomstick and use the floo network. However, from all former experience the Portkey was by far the very worst. It felt like the worst aspects from both apparating and using the floo network were combined in one.

Sasuke had hit the ground roughly when the portkey brought them to their destination. He turned himself around and squinted his eyes when he looked at the sky seeing Shikamaru, Chouji, and Naruto landing softly on their feet. Karin was holding on to her mother's arm, causing her not to fall on the ground as Sasuke had. He was starting to feel a bit embarrassed about his awful landing and looked around him; it seemed he wasn't the only one who hit the ground roughly. Sakura, Tenten, Lee and Ino were lying near him too, all moaning slightly from the pain.

Sasuke leaned on his elbows and got up from the ground, dusting himself off. He could see Naruto offering Sakura a hand which she gladly accepted. He pulled her up and they both exchanged a few words before laughing. Naruto helped dusting off her back before turning to his mother who pointed the way towards the camping area, near the stadium. Naruto turned back to Sakura and offered her his arm, which she laughingly took. At this Sasuke looked away, feeling a hatred boil inside him. He couldn't quite place where it came from or how to direct it. He pushed it down and followed the others to the camping side where they started setting everything up.

Karin tapped Sasuke on the arm, catching his attention immediately.

"Hey I think Suigetsu arrived," she said rather excitedly. "He is not far from here, maybe we can drop by quickly."

"Yeah, seems good" Sasuke said, putting his bag down near the bonfire as most were already running around and exploring the enchanted tents. There was one set for the boys and another set for the girls. They looked relatively small and normal from the outside, but inside they were as big as an apartment.

The two walked passed the camping area. Sasuke could see people already painting their face red and gold that were the colours of The Fire Ferrets, they were singing chants and holding up the club flag, waving it around like it was the nation's pride. Others had moving lighting bolts stickers on each side of their cheek, that made small thunder sounds. A few children were flying on what seemed like toy broomsticks that were close to the ground. There were even merchants selling scarfs and hats of both Quidditch teams. Not far from the stadium were stands that sold all kinds of wizarding stuff from figurines of the players to magical binoculars.

"Suigetsu!" Karin suddenly shouted right next to Sasuke's ear, bringing the Uchiha back to reality. He looked up and could see his friend sitting between his two dads and roasting a sausage on the small fire in front of their tent.

Suigetsu got up from the log he was sitting on and ran towards his friends, wrapping an arm around Karin and Sasuke as he pulled them in for a hug.

"it has been ages since I saw you two! That's a lie, I saw Karin a few months ago." Suigetsu said and pointed towards Sasuke, "I haven't seen you in almost a year!" He pointed and accusing finger towards the Uchiha while squinting his eyes.

"You owe me a Christmas present, bitch." He said, poking Sasuke in the chest.

"You mean the Christmas I missed because I was in a coma?" Sasuke questioned.

"Stupid excuses-"

"Suigetsu!" Karin punched the boy in his arm, "Why are you such a moron!?"

Suigetsu rubbed his shoulder, muttering about how much it hurt him.

"Susu, aren't you going to introduce us to your friends?"

Sasuke and Karin looked up at Suigetsu's fathers, waving at them. Suigetsu turned his head around and suggested they sit by the fire and have lunch with them since they were here now anyway.

"This is my dad," Suigetsu introduced one of his fathers who had brown hair, and dark eyes. His hair was combed down and covered his right eye.

"Izumo Kamizuki, nice to finally put a face behind the name. Susu has told us so much about you two." The man said, shaking their hands firmly.

"Ugh, dad! They didn't have to know that!" Suigetsu said feeling embarrassed. He then turned to his other dad that had long, spiky, black hair and also dark eyes.

"This is my papa."

"Kotetsu Hagana," the man said, also shaking their hands. "Are you kids hungry?" He asked opening a box and getting a pack of sausages and soda out. He threw one can towards Sasuke while handing Karin another one. They sat around the fire hearing Suigetsu's dad talk. The conversation mostly embarrassed Suigetsu, although they were nice people and nothing they said was that bad…Except for his nickname 'Susu'.

"Can we stop talking about me!" Suigetsu shouted with a red face.

"Oh come on, Susu. No need to get all fuzzy." Karin said with a grin.

"Yeah Susu, why so angry?" Sasuke added, sharing a look with Karin. Suigetsu glared at them and grunted, knowing the pestering would continue.

"There you two are," Both Sasuke and Karin turned their heads to see Minato walk towards them and put a hand on Sasuke's shoulder as he looked at Karin with his usual kind expression.

"You shouldn't be wandering off without telling anyone where you are going-"

"We're from the Uzumaki-clan," Karin interrupted her uncle with an annoyed expression on her face. "Mum and Auntie were capable of sensing us at least within a five kilometres radius with no problem." She looked away from her uncle and mumbled: "Even I can sense mum from here. You should know our clan's abilities by now even if you don't have any yourself."

Sasuke turned his eyes to Karin. He was surprised from her sudden attitude towards her uncle. He turned to look at Minato, who didn't show any sign of annoyance or anger in his face. If he did feel any negative emotions, he sure did a great job covering it. However, that didn't stop the tension from going down. That was until Izumo got up and eagerly introduced himself and his husband to Minato and added that he was a big fan of his. Minato was very flattered but remained humble as usual even though Izumo fanatically spoke of Minato achievements in the Auror department.

"Dad's is a journalist. He writes for the Sorcerer's Times and he does fancy Mr Namikaze." Suigetsu whispered towards Sasuke who looked at Izumo and did see a very excited look in his eyes and a hint of a blush once he got to shake Minato's hand.

"An honour meeting you," Izumo said, still holding on to Minato's hand who tried several times break off the hand-shake. It was only by this third attempt he managed to break it off without seeming too desperate. Sasuke and Karin quickly said their goodbyes to Suigetsu and his parents before following Minato back to their campsite.

"The game is going to start in two hours. The others want to go to the souvenir shops before going towards our seats," Minato said. "I'm going to get some Omnioculars for everybody."

"What is that?" Sasuke asked curiously.

"Omnioculars are a pair of magical brass binoculars. They are like muggle binoculars only with some extra features. They have the ability to slow down or replay something seen through the lenses. It is sort of holding the remote to the T.V."

"Ha," Sasuke looked amused, "I guess I won't be needing one then." He said pointing at his eyes that coloured from black to red, "Kinda have those features installed in my eyes as it is."

Minato chuckled at this, but their conversation was interrupted by the familiar voice of Hiashi Hyuuga.

"Are you hoping to copy some of Hoheto moves?"

Sasuke and Minato immediately turned their heads towards the head of the Hyuuga clan, standing behind him was Hinata and right besides him was another girl. She was young with long, dark brown hair that had long parted bangs and a single lock of hair falling into her face. She was clearly Hiashi's daughter as she resembles her father a lot. She wore a light yellow kimono with light violet painted textures, a red-orange obi with a green cord around.

"Of course you do know the Sharingan has the ability to copy the opponents moves, don't you?" Hiashi had an expression on his face Sasuke could only put as belonging to a know-it-all.

"Well, I am not surprised nobody told you," he gave a pitiful look towards Sasuke before looking at Minato, " I wouldn't expect a muggle-born to know about the blood-line traits of our sister-clan. No offense, Minara."

Of course he knew Minato by name. It was only his powerplay and his superior mentality that he refused to acknowledge the man, at least by name. This pissed Sasuke off and before he could say anything he could feel Minato grab him by his shoulder, holing him back.

"I see you managed to make it to the game. I'm sure your kin is very happy receiving the entire clan's supports. If you will excuse us. We have our own schedule to attend to-"

"That does remind me," Hiashi interrupted Minato, like whatever he had to say was of no concern to him. "Why don't you join us. It's only appropriate for you. Might help you achieve the wizard mentality that has been driven out of you by these…" He gave Minato a dirty look. "Well…You know what I mean," he said arrogantly.

"No, I don't know what you mean. Why don't you say it out loud." Sasuke dared him, glaring at the man in front of him. Hiashi shook his head in a disappointing way.

"How these liberals have corrupted your minds. It's not your fault these believes have been pushed inside your head. It is pitiful that the Uchiha clans has been resorted to this."

At this a rage was woke inside Sasuke and he wanted to grab his wand and curse the man right there and then, but before he could even reach his it; he could feel Minato grab his wrist and stop him. Sasuke tried to pull free, but Minato was a lot stronger than the Uchiha had given him credits for.

"That's enough," he said. Sasuke wasn't sure if he was talking to him or Hiashi at this point.

"You should probably go," Minato told Hiashi his cold but calm voice. "Before it gets busy in the stadium." He let go of Sasuke's wrist and gently put his arm around him and guided him towards the direction of their campsite. Sasuke looked over his shoulder at Hiashi, he could see the man smirking like he had won some imaginary battle. The Uchiha gritted his teeth, his eyes scarlet and full of rage.

"How can you let him talk like that!?" Sasuke raised his voice. "Threat you like you are some house-elf! Doesn't it drive you crazy, doesn't it make you mad?!"

"Because I don't care what people like him think of me. I don't let them define me or bother me and neither should you." Minato said. "That's all they want really, getting a rise out of you."

"They wouldn't want to get a rise out me if I threw a curse at them!" Sasuke said glaring at the direction Hiashi just stood, "Then they know who the better wizard is!"

"You're the better wizard by showing restrain and control," Minato said firmly.

"That something weak people say who don't dare to duel!" Sasuke shouted catching the attention of some people that were walking around them.

"Sasuke…" Karin spoke softly, looking around her. Sasuke lowered his gaze and his Sharingan disappeared and his normal dark eyes reappeared.

'Sorry…" He whispered.

"I don't expect you to understand right away; It is something you will learn from experience one day." Minato said. "There will always be people thinking the world of themselves by putting others down. They're just embarrassing themselves."

They made their way back in silence, once reached the camp site they could see almost everybody had gotten ready for the game. Naruto was wearing the club T-shirts and a cap with the stickers of the Fire Ferrets logo on each of his cheeks. It seemed his look matches that of both Lee and Tenten, Kiba had painted his face with the Fire Ferrets Logo. Sakura was wearing a shirt that said 'Fire' with a picture of moving flames while Ino wore a shirt that said "Ferrets" with two ferrets chasing each other on it.

"And the still want to get more merch?" Karin asked, looking at her uncle with a displeasing look. It is like she was stuck with a bunch of morons.

"Karin, you wanna wear one too!" Sakura asking, holding up a red shirt with an explanation mark on it made from the Snitch and a Firebolt broomstick.

"Uhm…No thank you…Red hair and red shirt…Doesn't really go." She said, trying to avoid being part of a matched set.

"Ow that is true. You can wear my shirt and then I will wear the red one," Ino said, offering up her white ferret shirt. Karin had a fake smile on her face and tried to appear kind. However, she stared at Sasuke with eyes that screamed 'save me'. Sasuke just slowly shook his head, causing Karin to mouth; "Bitch".

"Here, I got you this!" Naruto threw a shirt towards Sasuke. The Uchiha caught it and gave it a quick look. It was orange and had a big white 07 on the back witch was the number of the Fire Ferrets best chaser who used to play a decade ago in Gryffindor's Quidditch team. It was fair to say he was Naruto's idol. In the front was a moving picture of the famous player, flying on a broomstick and stopping right in the middle of the shirt while a small ferret was climbing from his shoulder to the top of his broomstick.

"It's a terrible shirt…You know the Lighting Panthers will win." Sasuke said. Naruto grabbed the shirt and pushed it over Sasuke's head.

"Yeah yeah we all know you are still rooting for Fire Ferrets," he said, putting his cap off and putting on Sasuke.

"I'm being logical." Sasuke said, not protesting as Naruto held Sasuke face as he put some stickers of the club's flag on Sasuke's cheek. One of a Ferret on his left cheek and on the other moving flames.

"Well," Naruto held Sasuke's face between his hands, his thumb stroking over the stickers to make them stick. "Not everything is about logic." He said seriously. Sasuke looked at Naruto a bit surprised by his wise world.

"…Otherwise there wouldn't be talking snakes." He added, causing Sasuke to push him away and Naruto to laugh.

"And I thought you grew up over the summer." Sasuke shook his head.


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22 Death Eaters**

Everybody was walking towards the stadium with Mrs. Uzumaki taking the lead as the party of children follower her. They all hurried past the thousands of people moving around, shouting, singing and laughing. The atmosphere was highly infectious; Naruto, Lee, Kiba and Chouji were cheering and holding up their team's flag every time another group of loyal Fire Ferret fans walked passed them. Shikamaru couldn't be bothered to jump up and down or to damage his vocal cords with all the screaming.

"Alright young sorcerers!" Kushina still managed to make herself heard over the loud crowd. "Seats hundred thousand, and so on. If you get lost, find the seat numbers." She turned around and immediately lead the way towards the nearest entrance, which was already surrounded by a swarm of shouting supporters.

"Good seats!" said the Ministry witch at the entrance when she checked their tickets, standing next to her was wizard that was clearly from the Hyuuga clan. He looked passed everybody of the party, his eyes resting on Naruto for a bit. He has his Byagukan activated, as if he was looking for anything out of the ordinary.

"Where is the mister?" Asked the witched grinning slightly as she looked passed the Hogwarts students looking for Mr Uzumaki.

"He'll be joining us later with our dear Nagato. Something work-related." She said, waving it off like it was no big deal.

"Very well then," she handed the tickets back to Kushina,"Straight upstairs and as high as you can go."

Kushina gave her a grateful nod and proceeded to walk ahead.

The stairs into the stadium were carpeted in rich purple. They clambered upward with the rest of the crowd, which slowly filtered away through doors into the stands to their left and right. They kept climbing up the stairs and after a while Sasuke felt tired and his legs were aching. To his surprise nobody else seemed to show any signs of struggle or fatigue, apparently the enchanted stairwells in Hogwarts were good for something after all. Unfortunately, Sasuke had missed almost an entire school year of walking them and it showed.

When they reached the top of the staircase and found themselves set at the highest point of the stadium and situated exactly halfway between the golden goal posts. Sasuke leaned against the railing, catching his breath. He looked up after a few seconds and held his breath when he saw the magnificent view of the stadium. It brought the Quidditch pitch down at Hogwarts to shame. For a moment everybody fell quiet and were staring in awe. Everything was suffused with a mysterious golden light, which seemed to come from the stadium itself. The field looked smooth as velvet from their lofty position. At either end of the field stood three goal hoops, fifty feet high; right opposite them, almost at Sasuke's eye level, was a gigantic blackboard. Gold writing kept dashing across it as though an invisible giant's hand were scrawling upon the blackboard and then wiping it off again.

"Can you imagine ever getting to play here?" Naruto said, leaning on the railing right next to Sasuke. His blue eyes were looking down at the grass that seemed twice as green as normal grass did. Sasuke didn't speak at first. He was examining Naruto thoroughly until he turned his head and caught the Uchiha staring. Sasuke looked away his eyes glued on the three golden goals.

"I don't think I will ever play professionally. Not like this."

Sasuke didn't have much to say in responds. He just grunted in a way that told Naruto he had heard him and was not ignoring him.

"I think I rather want to do something with animals anyway," Naruto said, "I think about writing a book on them. Travel around the world, find exotic creatures and study them. Create awareness for them."

"Creating awareness for animals?" The Uchiha raised an amused eyebrow, "Or those monsters you consider friendly?"

"They're not monsters!" said Naruto in a defensive and offended tone. It seemed the word ' _monster_ ' laid rather sensitive with him.

"Really the sea serpent in the lake that tried to swallow Karin and me?"

"That was a Kelpie." Naruto corrected Sasuke.

"Whatever dude," Sasuke rolled his eyes and leaned his elbows on the railing and moved forward to look at the other witches and wizards in the stadium. There must have been at least a hundred thousand that had came from all over the world.

"I'm sure of one thing though," Sasuke said absent minded, "there has never been a monster you weren't able to love."

Naruto smiled faintly as this.

"What about you? Have you thought of what you want to do after Hogwarts?" He asked. This caught Sasuke by surprise and he frowned, thinking deeply. He though back of the strange dream he had only a few days ago. How the stranger had told him about a certain destiny, but Sasuke wasn't sure in how far he should believe a dream.

"….Go to wizarding college?" Sasuke joked. He knew full well from Kakashi that there was no such thing as a wizarding college. However, he was surprised how he had never given his career any other thought.

Naruto gave him a confused look.

"I don't know what I am going to do….I never thought of it before…" Sasuke said. "It is not like it will matter very much."

That was true, Sasuke had no need for any money as he was very well off with the fortune he inherited from his clan.

"You gotta have some goals?" Naruto said out loud.

Sasuke remained quiet at this, his eyes fading away as he thought back of the attack at Hogsmeade and his brother. How Itachi tortured him and how the Akatsuki killed Haku. At a single moment everything repeated itself in his mind and it wasn't until Naruto grabbed his arm and shook him slightly that he woke up from his thoughts.

"Are you alright?" Naruto asked concerned.

"Yeah," Sasuke looked back up at Naruto, seeing Nagato sneak behind him. He indicated to Sasuke to stay quiet and Sasuke rolled his eyes and turned back to the stadium, not wanting to be caught up in any random prank.

Nagato wrapped his arms around Naruto and titled him up, causing Naruto to scream in panic for one second before realising what was going on. He laughed loudly, kicking his legs in the air in which Nagato was forced to let him go.

"I was going to throw you off the stadium but you're so heavy," Nagato teased his cousin, "wouldn't hurt to eat a salad so now and then."

"Very funny!" Naruto said, poking Nagato who immediately looked hurt.

"Stop that, I am sensitive!" He said, trying to get away from Naruto.

"Maybe I wouldn't be poking your bones if you actually bother to eat less salads."

"Aunt Kushinaaaa~" Nagato said in a whining way.

"Boys," Minato said, shaking his head. Naruto stopped and gave Nagato a grin.

"What took you so long?" Naruto asked his cousin as he looked from him to Kiba's sister and then to his dad.

"Well we were just checking if the barriers were alright and then we came to the stadium. Going through security took quite some time as they had to strip uncle from basically all his weapons. There were blades, and scrolls, and swords, and throwing knives…"

Sasuke actually turned around to look at Nagato as he descriptively described how embarrassing it was to go through security with Minato as he apparently carried a lot of weapons that were not allowed inside the stadium.

"Security?" Sasuke asked, "I didn't see any metal detectors."

"Metal what now?" Nagato asked confused, "The Hyuuga wizard next to the check everybody for illegal items. Did you think he was standing there for show?"

"No…" Sasuke said, but he had to admit he hadn't given the wizard any thought when they passed him. "How come he's carrying so many weapons? Why would he be needing them if he has a wand?"

"Because he is very bad in transfiguration spells." Nagato said as an obvious joke, but it seemed it went straight over Sasuke's head and he cleared his throat feeling embarrassed that his sense of humour wasn't well understood. "They're Goblin made weapons, so they have magical abilities. In some you can even channel your magic through, although it is nothing compared to a wand. For an auror however, they come in handy when fighting dark wizards."

"Why would a stadium not allow weapons, but allow everybody to carry a wand? How is that saver? This makes no sense, a good sorcerers could make a sword out of a thin air, wouldn't they?" Sasuke said, now turning himself fully around and giving Nagato all his attention.

"Because you can't strip a witch or wizard from their wand. Unless they are in Azakaban." Nagato said it like it was something every wizard and witch knew.

"Well if you use your wand to curse somebody, they can trace the spell back to you. But if you are in a big crowd and you stab somebody…They can't trace the weapon back to you. It is more a legal thing, I guess." Naruto explained.

"What about fingers prints or DNA samples, the weapon would be filled with…" Sasuke stopped talking when he saw the confused look Naruto and Nagato were giving him.

"Never mind…" He sighed.

The stadium filled gradually around them over the next half hour. Mr and Mrs Uzumaki kept shaking hands with people who were obviously very important wizards. There were occasional ones pointing at Sasuke and whispering ( not too quietly) if he was the Uchiha boy everybody had been talking about, Sasuke was very grateful how Mrs Uzumaki always managed to keep everybody at bay to not disturb him or attempt small talk. He wasn't sure it was her kind word or the clenched fist that made everybody listen.

"Ladies and gentlemen. . . welcome! Welcome to the Quidditch World Cup!" A voice came echoing through the stadium, catching everybody's attention immediately. The spectators screamed and clapped. Thousands of flags waved, adding their discordant national anthems to the racket. The huge blackboard opposite them was wiped clear of its last message and now showed FIRE FERRETS: 0, THE LIGHTING PANTHERS: 0.

"And now, without further ado, allow me to introduce. . . THE LIGHTING PANTHERS!"

Sasuke had expected for the team to fly in the stadium like he had during every game at Hogwarts, but what he saw were a hundred beautiful woman gliding out onto the field. They were dancing elegantly all over the place, creating a show. Sasuke accidently poked Chouji with his elbow, he wanted to apologize but since there was no responds, he looked up and saw him staring with heart shaped eyes and open jaw at the dancers. It seemed he couldn't look away from them. Sasuke frowned at this and turned to the others. It seemed Lee, Kiba,Shikamaru and Sakura were all enchanted. Ino seemed to have her full attention on the women too, but unlike the others. She didn't seem have her jaw wide open. Sasuke turned to Naruto, seeing he, much like Ino, just looked at the dancing and wasn't too effected by it. Sasuke poked Naruto who looked up with a little annoyance.

"What is happening?" Sasuke whispered, indicating to Chouji and the others. Naruto shrug him off and looked back at the show until it was done and the women gracefully ran off the field.

"KIBA WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Hana, Kiba's sister shouted grabbing him by the back of his shirt and trying to stop him from climbing over the fence. Kiba seems to wake up from some kind of trance and shouted before falling backwords on the floor.

Angry yells were filling the stadium. The crowd didn't want the women to go.

"Those were Velaa's" Naruto said. "Veela are beautiful creatures and they have the ability to hypnotise and mesmerise most people with their seductive dance, who will then mostly try to impress them." He indicated to Kiba who was still lying on the floor.

"Veela are thought to have their own type of magic which does not require a wand. When Veela are angry, however, they transform into something more like Harpies — their faces turn into cruel-beaked bird-like heads while long scaly wings burst from their shoulders, and they can launch balls of fire from their hands. Veela seem to be quite an irascible race." Naruto informed

"If most people are hypnotised by them. Why weren't you affected?" Sasuke asked curiously.

"I have a giant nine tailed demon fox inside me that immunes me to most hypnotic spells, but what is your excuse?" Naruto said with a huge grin spread across his face. "You didn't even seem the slightest bit interested in their dance. In fact you seem to be looking at how everybody was reacting rather than looking at what they were reacting on."

"Well…." Sasuke was getting flustered, "I'm an Uchiha…" he didn't have much to go on and he turned away from Naruto, realising Karin had been looking at him with suspicious eyes. He looked away from her now too. It seemed all these Uzumaki's were on his case!

The Lightning Panthers flew across the field, looking like light blue blurs to almost everyone. Their supporters were going wild, screaming and sheering like there was no tomorrow. All the team members were one by one announced with the last one being Darui, the legendary seeker.

"That's him, that's him!" yelled Lee, following Darui with his Omnioculars. Sasuke activated his Sharingan to get a good look at the flying blue blur.

Darui is a fairly tall, dark-skinned man with a slightly bulbous nose, black eyes that usually look bored, and shaggy, white hair which covers his left eye. He did a hand stand on his broom stick while flying across the stadium before coming to a full stop only a few meters away from where they were sitting. Even though they were dressed, supporting the Fire Ferrets, they applauded.

Darui looked around the stage and his eyes locked for a second with Sasuke's, he grinned and made a small waving gesture using only his index and middle finger. The Uchiha shook it off quickly thinking he was imagining things, but Karin seemed to have noted it too and looked from the stadium to Sasuke.

"Did he winked at you?!" Karin raised his voice slightly.

"I don't think so. I think he was just greeting everyone in general." Sasuke said, looking back at the game.

"And now," roared the announcer's voice, "kindly put your wands in the air. . . for the Fire Ferrets!"

Red and Yellow fire works appeared in the air out of nowhere, forming moving shapes in the sky. The team flew in from behind them chasing around the stadium and doing trick on their broomsticks right until they stopped in the middle of the field and a little ferret was standing on the famous chaser's broomstick, doing a hand stand. It was adorable and everybody cheered loudly. One last big fire work was launched and the image of the mascot appeared in the sky that ran before disappearing in a big bang.

The announcer introduced all the players one by one, but had to talk so fast it sounded like a rap-song of names to Sasuke. four balls burst into the air: the scarlet Quaffle, the two black Bludgers, and the minuscule, winged Golden Snitch that disappeared as fast as it came. With a sharp blast on his whistle, the game began.

It was Quidditch as Sasuke had never seen it played before. He look in awe, following every move from every player. Their speed and skills were incredible. When he and Naruto talked about going pro Sasuke hadn't realised there was such a huge gap in their skills. Even with his Sharingan, Sasuke was sure Darui would still beat him to the snitch.

Everybody started cheering and shouting when the Fire Ferrets had scored their first goal.

"What?" Naruto yelled, looking wildly around through his Omnioculars. "But they don't even have possession of the Quaffle!"

"If you ain't watching on normal speed you're gonna mis the game!" Kiba shouted. Furious with himself, Naruto spun his speed dial back to normal as play resumed on his magical binoculars.

About thirty minutes passed as the Fire Ferrets were in the lead with 70- 10, but then suddenly both seekers started going from their observing positions to their racing ones. One hundred thousand wizards gasped as the two Seekers, Darui and Hoheto, plummeted through the center of the Chasers, so fast that it looked as though they had just jumped from airplanes without parachutes.

"They're going to crash," Naruto said, looking concerned. Sasuke could see the muscles in Darui's shoulder tense up. He was going to pull out of the dive and was just playing chicken with the Hyuuga. Darui pulled out of the dive and spiralled off. Hoheto, however, hit the ground with a dull thud that could be heard throughout the stadium. A lot of people looked away, including Naruto. Sasuke leaned over the railing to get a better look at the squashed Hyuuga. He looked up at the top box, where his clan sat. Hinata had her hands around her mouth and Neji and Hanabi looked concerned. It was like they were looking for sign of movement or breathing. Some of the Hyuuga's ran out of the top box, probably to check if everything was fine. Hiashi looked disappointed and somehow angry. His eyes met with Sasuke's from across the stage for a brief second.

"Fool!" moaned Kiba. "Darui was feinting!"

"It's time-out!" yelled announcer's voice, "as trained medi-wizards hurry onto the field to examine Hoheto Hyuuga!"

"He'll be okay, he only got ploughed" Sasuke said reassuringly to Naruto, who was looking away, horror struck. "Which is what Darui was after, of course... ." He added in a know-it-all tone.

"Are you sure he is alright?" Naruto asked, looking at Sasuke instead of the field.

"I can see him breathing," Sasuke reassured him, "Nothing magic can't fix."

"I don't understand," Sakura said,. "Hoheto is a Hyuuga, he should have seen the Snitch before Darui. How could they both be diving at the same time?"

"Darui hadn't seen the Snitch at all, he was just making Hoheto follow him." Sasuke said, "The snitch is right next to the central goal. I can't believe Hoheto didn't see it."

"It is obvious, isn't it?" Karin pushed her glasses up her nose. "Hyuugas can see far distances and in a nearly 360 degrees around them. However, it doesn't matter if he has a view of everything around him, the Snitch moves and changes positions so fast it is still undetectable for a Hyuuga." She said.

Hoheto was back in the air after a few minutes. He was whipping his mouth from the remains of the potion the medics had given him. After fifteen more fast and furious minutes, the Fire Ferrets had scored over and over again and it became clear what their plan was: to be so far ahead of The Lighting Panthers that Darui catching the snitch wouldn't even matter at the end. It seemed they relayed heavily on their star player who scored goal after goal. Not even bothering to do a victory round around the stadium anymore. He was so concentrated and focused, it seemed everybody else on his team revolved around helping him score. Keeping the Bludgers and other players away, passing him the ball and creating a path for him to score.

The lightning Ferrets were getting desperate, trying to knock players off their brooms at a certain point. Darui, who probably had seen the snitch several time had to refrain from getting it as it would mean the end of the game and a big lost. But after a while, it seemed clear that the chasers of The Lighting Panthers were inferior to that of the Fire Ferrets. Darui caught the snitch the moment he saw it, earning his team a 150 points, although the Fire Ferrets had won big time. Everybody cheered loudly as nobody had expected the Fire Ferrets to actual win against the Lightning Panthers, it caused this victory to be extra sweet. The team did a round around the field, holding out their fist as they cheered and seemed over the moon with their victory. They were handed the Quidditch cup which they held proudly up in the sky for everyone to see…And then their little ferret climbed up in and sat inside the cup, like it was it's own personal sleeping bowl, leaving many laughing.

The crowds were flooding out of the stadium and back to their campsites. Raucous singing was borne toward them on the night air as they retraced their steps along the lantern-lit path. Naruto, Kiba, Lee, Chouji, Sakura, Nagato, Tenten and Ino were celebrating the victory of the Fire Ferrets. Sasuke was feeling tired after the long day and decided to head to the tent with the others that were not up for a late night. They headed to the boy's tent to hang out and drink some hot chocolate and talk about the match.

Karin, Sasuke and Shikamaru were sitting around the coffee table, talking about the game. Hana approached the table, holding hot chocolate for everyone.

"I heard from my little brother you're in the Slytherin Quidditch team." Hana said, putting down the mugs before sitting down next to Sasuke.

"I was…Used to be," Sasuke added the last part in a whisper.

"You must be very good. I remember when I was in Hogwarts the teams that contained Uchihas were almost unbeatable. Of course back then every team had at least one or two players that were Uchihas." She said, taking a sip from her drink.

"Most played seeker or beater. They were actually considering to ban the usage of the Sharingan, but it was too unfair since the excitement of the game caused them to immediately turn on." She chuckled, "There was one guy. I think his name was Shisui. He was a very good chaser." She said with a fond expression on her face "I don't remember if he had gone pro or not."

"How long ago did you graduate from Hogwarts?" Sasuke asked, doing some quick maths in his head.

"About two years ago."

At this all three Hogwarts students shared a quick look. It surprised Hana.

"What is it?" She asked nervously.

"It is just that…" Karin spoke after a few seconds of silence, "That it means you were in ..You know…Who's year…"

"Owh…" Hana looked at Sasuke before lowering his eyes and focussing on her cup, "I don't know what to tell you. I didn't know him very well. He was in Ravenclaw and I was in Hufflepuff. We didn't have many classes together."

"Anything you remember would probably do some good." Sasuke said, straightening his back.

Hana looked uncomfortable and sighed thinking of what to say. She opened her mouth but she didn't say anything. She shut her lips again and seemed to be thinking deeply.

"Anything…Really." Sasuke said slightly impatient.

"There wasn't anything odd about him. He was a very good wizard…I think he could have passed his NEWT's in his first year and go on to become an auror or even minister of magic before he even hit puberty." She said softly. "Everything came so natural to him."

"But…Was he like a loner? Always by himself? Any small psycho signs? Did he like dissected a unicorn or something?" Sasuke asked feeling unsatisfied by the answer.

"Not…That I know of…" Hana got up, "It's getting late. I'm going to go to bed." She stated and walked out of the boy's tent.

The three of remained quiet and sighed.

"Nagato is from his year? Maybe he knows something?" Sasuke suggested, looking at Karin who shook her head.

"I tried…Hell, Naruto tried. Nobody wants to talk about him. His name alone gives them the chills." Karin stated.

"It seems he was just a regular student. I think most of his classmates are too ashamed to admit they did not have a clue the most wanted criminal of all times would be among them." Shikamaru stated, "Whoever wrote that warning should know Itachi and you, is either keeping an eye on the Akatsuki or is in them and didn't want you to die. Does anybody pop in your mind?"

"No…" Sasuke said, causing all three to sigh deeply. They were getting nowhere.

The others entered the tent after a while, all still singing and laughing. Naruto was carrying Sakura on his back while Kiba was giving Ino a piggy back ride. Sasuke looked up at the two, seeing Sakura jump off Naruto's back. They were laughing and Sakura ruffled Naruto's hair to get some red and gold confetti out of it. Sasuke looked back at his mug and noticed his knuckles colouring white. He tried loosening the grip around the mug, afraid he would break it.

"You guys!" Kiba panted, finally dropping Ino on the couch before kneeling down in front of the coffee table, "missed some amazing partying! What a shame we had to go to the tents from Mrs Uzumaki."

"Mum just doesn't want us to be outside when everybody is getting drunk." Naruto said, kneeling down next to Sasuke before the fireplace. "She is responsible."

"Didn't she destroy the door to your room because you refused to have dinner with your family one time?" Shikamaru reminded Naruto who laughed at the memory.

"She fixed the door! Give her some credits!" He laughed. "Uzumakis are hot tempered. Look at Karin!" He pointed accusingly at his cousin.

"I am not tempered!" Karin shouted.

"All of this got me very excited to win the house cup this year, right Kiba!" Naruto said, high fiving his friend.

"Alright everybody," Kushina walked inside the tent, "One cup of hot coco and then it is up to bed. We will have to get the portkey early in the morning." She stated getting some protest.

After an half hour, everybody was getting ready for bed. Sasuke was immediately asleep the moment his head hit the pillow. He was having a peaceful dream when quite suddenly, Minato was shouting.

"Get up! Sasuke - Shikamaru- come on now, get up, this is urgent!" He said, shaking Sasuke roughly.

Sasuke's eyes shot open. The light were turned on and everybody was waking up.

"What's happening?" Naruto asked, jumping off the top bunk. Lee and Chouji were both already on their feet, holding their wands out and looking cluelessly around them.

They could tell that something was wrong. The noises in the campsite had changed. The singing had stopped. They could hear screams, and the sound of people running.

"There is no time." Minato said and turned to his son, "Grab your cloak - quickly!"

Naruto nodded grabbing his bag and pulling the invisibility cloak out. He didn't put it around him as Sasuke had expected him to. He just carried it with him. Sasuke quickly put his shoes on and grabbed his wand like the others did before hurrying out of the tent. They could see people running in all directions and a few tents were caught on fire as spells were being shot around the dark sky. There were loud jeering, roars of laughter, and drunken yells were drifting toward them; then came a burst of strong green light, which illuminated the scene.

Sasuke could see a few groups of tightly packed wizards that had their wands out and were wearing black cloaks with masks hiding their faces. They looked like some sort of cult. He saw a few of them apparating around the field, throwing curses as people at random. Unlike the other boys he could see clearly what was going on with his Sharingan, he had no idea he had the ability to look in the dark until now.

Karin, Sakura, Ino and Tenten came hurrying toward them, pulling coats over their nightdresses, with Mrs Uzumaki right behind them.

"What is going on!" Sakura cried out, running right towards Naruto. She was scared, tears were rolling down her cheeks. "Naruto!" She shouted.

Naruto couldn't give her an answer. Nagato, Hana, Kushina and even Mariko (Karin's mother) had their wands up, forming a sort of barrier between the children and the chaos around them.

At the same moment, Minato emerged from the boys' tent, fully dressed, with their sleeves rolled up and their wands out.

"I'm going in !" Minato shouted over all the noise. He seemed to be talking to Kushina. Her eyes looked worried.

"I'm going with you!" Nagato said determined.

"No," Minato said firmly. "They're Death Eaters! Protect the children. Head to the woods!".

Kushina nodded knowing full well the Death Eaters were after the muggle-borns. Nagato clenched his jaws shut as he looked at Minato.

"I'm counting on you." Minato said before disapparating.

Ministry wizards were dashing from every direction toward the source of the trouble.

"C'mon," said Kushina to Nagato who nodded. "Stay in formation, don't let them get to the children!" She said. "Everybody wands out! Naruto get under the cloak!"

"But mum-"

"No arguing!" She raised her voice. Naruto did as he was told and wrapped the cloak around him. They were rushing towards the wood as their surrounding was pure chaos. There was yelling, cursing crying. But through all of it, Sasuke still managed to hear a distinctive voice. It was laughing through all of the chaos and Sasuke froze in his spot, looking up at the direction of Itachi's voice. He could see a hooded figure, standing in front a burning tent. His face was mostly covered under his hood.

There was no doubt in Sasuke's mind. It was Itachi.

"You…" Sasuke tried to run towards his brother in the opposite direction of the stream of people, but Nagato grabbed him and tried to stop him.

"No! Sasuke!" He couldn't finish his sentence, Sasuke pushed Nagato aside and sprinted towards his brother that laughed and ran teasingly away from Sasuke. Disapprating and apparating a few meters in front of him, still laughing.

"Itachi!" Sasuke shouted, throwing the sectumsepra curse at him, but he missed by a hair. In stead a tent was split into two.

"Fight me!" Sasuke shouted, "Fight me, you coward!"

Itachi stopped laughing and Sasuke could see his smile fade from the bottom half of his face.

"You wanted to kill me. Here I am. Try it! I dare you!" Sasuke shouted as they were standing in an open field in the middle of three burning tents.

Itachi took his hood of and threw his cloak away.

"You look just like your brother." His voice suddenly changed into a deeper one.

Sasuke's eyes widened as he suddenly saw his brother transform into a blond haired person who seemed only to be in his late teens. He was shorter, and wore his blond hair in half a pony tail, his bangs covering one eye completely. His eyes were blue and he had dark rings around them.

Standing in front of him wasn't his brother. It was Deidara, a psychotic dark wizard that was on the hit list of almost every auror around the world. Sasuke had seen his mug shot on the Daily Prophet at the beginning of the last year. The Uchiha had many questions, why did this person transform into Itachi? How did he knew him? What did he want from him?

Deidara threw a curse and Sasuke skilfully blocked it, and then another and then another. Sasuke couldn't ditch the feeling that the man was testing him. He suddenly grinned and disapparated. Sasuke looked around him, but couldn't spot him.

"Reducto!"

Deidara suddenly flew over the field and hit the ground. The Uchiha hadn't seen the man coming from behind the thick smoke of the burning tents.

Sasuke turned his head around and could see Naruto run towards him. He didn't say anything as they stood back to back when three more Death Eaters appeared out of thin air and Deidara got up, he looked even angrier than before. He cursed under her breath and threw a jinx at Naruto. Naruto blocked it. The others started attacking and Sasuke and Naruto tried to hold back the spells.

"Run, I'll cover you." Naruto hissed casting a shielding charm that broke after four stunning spells hit it.

"And leave you behind!? Are you insane?" Sasuke raised his voice. The idea made his stomach twist. It was his fault he was blinded by anger and ran after who he thought was his brother.

"We can't hold this up much longer!" Naruto said redirecting a spell aimed at him. "I will start attacking and you can take the opening and get away. "

"No, Naruto I won't just leave you." Sasuke said. Naruto groaned and it seemed he was assessing the situation.

"Incarcerous!" Naruto shouted a rope wrapped itself around a Death Eater and was strangling him, "Confringo!" He a big orange flame was shot right in front of Deidara, causing an explosion.

Naruto grabbed Sasuke by his arm and together they ran the opposite direction of the blast. Spells were now getting thrown at them, Sasuke turned around and casted a bat-boogy hex at one of the Death Eaters that fell on the ground. Naruto came to an abrupt stop when Deidara and two other Deat Eaters apparated in front of them. Naruto turned around him, three more were standing behind them. They were surrounded with now way to go. Just when they thought they were done for a yellow flash passed by, even with the Sharingan. Sasuke could barely make out who was transporting so quickly around them.

"Dad!" Naruto said relieved as Minato suddenly appeared in front of them. One hand holding a knife and another holding his wand.

"Don't let you guard down. Keep an eye on one another" He said seriously as he disappeared. He appeared behind two of the Death Eaters knocking them out. He disappeared again and reappeared in front of another two. He casted a spell, causing them to fall motionless to the ground. He disappeared for the third time and now knocked another one to the ground.

Deidara looked panicked and wanted to make a run for it, but Minato appeared behind him, the knife pressed against Deidara's throat.

"Drop your wand. You can't beat me," Minato warned in a cold voice.

Sasuke looked amazed at how skilful Minato was. He knew why people feared him. He was incredible.

He tied Deidara up and used a water-spell to put the fire outs. Three more aurors showed up.

"That were all of them."

"Check the premises, send word to the Minister. Summon the Medi-wizards and send the civilians home right away." Minato said, kneeling down in front of Deidara who glared at him.

"You…Filthy-mudblood." He spat out. Minato, who usually was a calm and kind man, grabbed Deidara by his collar and pulled him up with one arm.

Sasuke expected the auror to ask the dark wizard how he got in or what his intentions were, but the first questions Minato asked…..

"Why were you targeting Sasuke Uchiha?"


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23 Return To Hogwarts**

It was September first and Sasuke sat in a mostly empty compartment with his two best friends. None of them had said much the entire first hour of the train ride. When somebody attempted to start a conversation, it would always come back to the same topics that caused arguments to break out between Suigetsu and Karin, which were followed by Sasuke telling both of them- firmly- to shut up. This constant nagging had caused two second years to leave the compartment.

Sasuke had too much on his mind to even bother with any of the useless arguments Karin and Suigetsu got themselves in. He was looking out the window at the passing landscape. Everything that had happened during the Quidditch World Cup repeated itself in his mind, and he felt stupider and stupider every time he thought of how Deidara had used the hatred he felt for Itachi to trap him. He got lucky Naruto had come to aid him and Minato managed to rescue them. He had never seen the head of the Auror department duel before, and it was beyond anything he had ever seen. However, not everybody in the wizarding community agreed with him. There were several news outlets that were convinced Minato's muggle-born status caused the entire attack to begin with and that only a true pure-blooded wizard has the magical ability to prevent such disaster from happening. He even received a bunch of howlers from angry pure-blood extremists.

The night of the attack he and Naruto were dragged away by two aurors that took them back to their campsite. Sasuke wanted to hear why Deidara had been after him and what he had said to Minato, if he had said anything at all. Unfortunately, it wasn't his call and he wasn't going to disobey Minato after he had saved him. When they reached their destination, Kushina was furious with both of them, but was too happy to see that both boys were uninjured that she could only shout at them for being big idiots before hugging them both so tightly, it was hard to breath for a moment. They had sat in silence until the portkey was ready to transport them back to the Uzumaki Mansion. There, Kakashi had been waiting for Sasuke and they were immediately off to the muggle world. The Uchiha had gone straight to his room and into his bed where he had remained feeling pretty horrible until Obito and Kakashi came in and tried talking to him about everything that had happened.

Kakashi wasn't sure at first if he was supposed to tell Sasuke everything he knew. Not because he had some conscious of what was kid-appropriate, he just wasn't sure if Minato would have found it a good idea. He thought about it for three whole seconds and came to the conclusion that what Minato didn't know, couldn't hurt him, thus he told Sasuke everything, things probably no other student knew since there had been a big taboo around it.

It all stated twenty years ago, first it were just whispers and some outspoken pureblood ideologies that slowly became more outspoken to a point there were even attacks on muggle-borns or people that were affiliated with muggles (also known as muggle-lovers).

This shift had come by dark wizard named Orochimaru, but everybody called him the Snake-Sanin because he had a rare gift of talking to snakes, a blood-line ability passed down by the Gaunt family. Something he was incredibly proud of, but was only known widely a few years prior. He was a very powerful wizard and did some of the most horrible acts known to wizard kind to acquire such strengths.

He had been caught kidnapping muggle-born, squibs and half-breeds to experiment on. The Snake Sanin had managed to flee and had appealed to the pure-blood fanatics by supporting their believes in keeping the magic race pure and gained followers. He wanted to throw over the Ministry of Magic and take over the muggle world. He wanted more subjects to experiment on and be unstoppable. He had his most loyal and strongest followers, the Akatsuki. Then there were the Death Eaters, his little pawns.

As a reaction towards the rise of The Dark Lord. The Senju brothers, Hashirama and Tobirama, started an order that many had joined. Kakashi dropped a few names like Tsuande, Jiraiya, Minato and Kushina. They were spying around and taking the safety of muggles and muggle-borns in their own hands. It had become a pattern that The Order and The Death Eaters would cross each other and duel. Many had died from both sides. A lot of people were living in fear. It was in the middle of this war when Kushina, the now former Jinchuriki of the Kyuubi, had become pregnant and keeping it a secret was of utmost importance.

The Uzumaki clan were master in sealing magic and when they had transferred the Kyuubi from the elderly Mito Uzumaki to Kushina, there was only one thing that could weaken it. Sasuke had guessed it must have been the Cruciates curse, but Kakashi shook his head and replied: "Child birth."

She was taken to a secure location far away from the wizarding village to give birth to her son. There were only a few people present during this. Two aurors that Kakashi didn't seem to remember the names of and two medic-wizards, Biwako Sarutobi (The minister of magic's wife) and her thrusted assistant Taiji and lastly Minato, of course. It was a top secret mission and there were only a few people aware of Kushina's state. However, it turned out there had been a rat amongst them and The Snake Sanin had attacked them right after Naruto had been born. A fight went down. Spells had been thrown everywhere. People were killed. Minato had managed to rescue Naruto, but Kushina was taken. Orochimaru had broken the sealing and retracted the Kyuubi from her. There was chaos everywhere. The village was under attack by Death Eaters and Akatsuki members. The Kyuubi had been broken lose and was attacking everything on its way and Kushina was so weakened, her life was unsure at this point.

That night Minato had truly prove himself as a legendary wizard. Kakashi had joked that after that day Minato got his own chocolate frog card. Sasuke didn't think the comment was very funny.

Minato had duelled against Orochimaru and used one of the most difficult sealing charms of the Uzumaki-clan that had been unable to be casted by anybody since Ashina Uzumaki. Kakashi didn't go into much detail about the spell, but it killed Orochimaru. After tha,t Minato had teleported to his new born baby and together with Kushina ( in her very weakened state) sealed the Kyuubi inside of Naruto.

"Why Naruto? He was just a baby." Sasuke had commented and which Kakashi explained that not everybody could just become a vessel for tailed-beast. There are only an handful of wizards capable of carrying such power inside of them. Minato's body could bare such heavy sealing. Kushina was too weakened. It wouldn't have only killed them, it would have re-released the beast. That is why they intrusted Naruto.

"Was it their best parenting moment? Probably not" Kakashi commented, "But it worked out fine!"

Sasuke frowned at this. Why Kakashi interrupted his story with such annoying commentary was beyond him.

"Y'know besides growing up hated by everybody from the wizarding village. But really the first couple of years you couldn't blame the kid for being hated, but as soon as he learned how to run. He started pranking around. I remember that kid throwing paint bombs all around the village. The clean up was quite hard. People then started hating him for that rather than being the vessel of the demon that had destroyed their homes and killed their loved ones."

"Hu…He always seemed to cheerful and…Likeable." Sasuke muttered. Obito gave his adoptive son a suspicious look at this. Naruto must have been better than an angel for Sasuke to find him 'likeable'.

Kakashi had continued telling how the fighting had ended and many dark wizards were captured and thrown in Azkaban. Some got away and other were set free after lying they were under the imperious curse. There were a few attacks here and there, but nothing compared to the dark-times. That was until Itachi slaughtered the Uchiha-clan. Few years later the Akatsuki were getting more active and so did the Death Eaters. The Questions everybody was wondering if Orochimaru had come back from the death, if they were acting on their own or if an even darker figure had risen up.

"But why was Deidara after me? Shouldn't he be wanting Naruto?" Sasuke had asked.

"Naruto came running after you, didn't he?" Kakashi had commented and Sasuke's eyes widened in shock until Kakashi laughed. Apparently he was just joking. His sense of humour caused him a bruise on his leg because the young wizard had kicked him off the bed.

"Deidara is a pretty tempered person. I believe he was recruited by your brother and lost a duel against him. I think he wanted some sort of revenge on him and by taking your Sharingan he could actually stand a chance. He probably threatened a dozen others to join him. He is a pretty powerful wizards. Crazy…But good." Kakashi had said. "It was the only opportunity he got. You are either at Hogwarts and under the protection of the Senjus or hidden inside the muggle world. Even if they managed to find you between the billions of muggles. They would have to go through me next." Kakashi smirked, "I am not just here to be eye-candy." He winked at Obito.

Sasuke sighed deeply and looked away from the window. The trolley lady had opened the compartment door to ask if they wanted anything to drink or eat from her cart. Suigetsu jumped at this opportunity.

"Sasuke?" Karin asked carefully, like she was talking to an emotionally vulnerable person. Sasuke frowned at this, but didn't say anything about it. "Do you want anything to eat?"

He shook his head giving Karin a rather annoyed look for even asking him. Why he felt particularly annoyed at this….He didn't really know.

When the train stopped at Hogsmeade station, they didn't leave the compartment right away. They waited for all the first years and eager students to get off first so they didn't have to be bumped around and feel like cattle inside the station. They stepped out of the train as one of the last people and walked through a mostly empty station to the coaches that brought everybody except for the first year to the castle.

Sasuke had remembered the coached to be horseless, but it seemed Hogwarts had changed that. There were creatures standing between the carriage shafts; if he had had to give them a name, he supposed he would have called them horses, though there was something reptilian about them, too. They were completely fleshless, their black coats clinging to their skeletons, of which every bone was visible. Their heads were dragonish, and their pupil-less eyes white and staring, almost like the Byakugan. Wings sprouted from each wither — vast, black leathery wings that looked as though they ought to belong to giant bats. Standing still and quiet in the gloom, the creatures looked eerie and sinister.

"why are the coaches being pulled by these horrible horses when they are quite capable of moving along by themselves?" Sasuke asked when he walked towards the creature, it was moving its head curiously at him, like it new Sasuke could see it.

"You're an ugly one, aren't you?" Sasuke said, slowly reaching towards it. It allowed him to touch. When the Uchiha turned to his friends they were both giving him a weird look.

"The forbidden cruse fried his brain, I tell ya" Suigetsu whispered to Karin.

"Sasuke," Karin's was using her nurse-voice again, "There is nothing there."

At first Sasuke thought the two were messing with him, but their expression looked so sincere that Sasuke looked back and forth from the horse to them.

"It's right here." He stated, not sure if he was confirming it to himself or to Karin and Suigetsu.

"You want us to take you to Lady Shizune?" Karin asked.

"No! You know what…Whatever. Be blind!" Sasuke hissed, pulling his hand away from the ugly horse and getting on the coaches. Suigetsu and Karin got in after him and much like the train ride, the ride to Hogwarts was very quiet too. That was until all three of them frowned once they got closer to the castle and could see black figured flying around it.

"What are those?" Sasuke frowned at the sight. The beings made him feel very unconfutable inside and the hair on the back of his neck were standing up. He was never going to admit that to Karin or Suigetsu.

"Dementors. Uncle-Minato said they would be guarding Hogwarts from now on. He was against that idea and so was the headmaster, but you know the Minister of Magic. Whatever his advisor wants, he gets."

"Adviser?"

"Danzo Shimura, all you need to know is that you don't want him as your enemy. He can even get a saint thrown into prison for a stupid reason" Karin confirmed. "He insisted on dementor after the attack in Hogsmeade and the escapee of Azkaban. My mom said he got the majority vote in the matter. Not because people actually agreed, but because he had tons and tons of blackmail on many important figures."

"Wouldn't surprise me if he was in Slytherin" Suigetsu commented.

"Duh," Karin rolled her eyes.

When they reached the castle they sat down at the Slytherin table. There was a lot of whispering happening around them. Sasuke could over hear a few second-years whispering to one another of the event that had taken place last year which caused Sasuke to leave for months. They were not being very discreet with their conversation, but Sasuke ignored it. He looked around the great hall, scanning the Gryffindor table to see if he could catch a glimpse of Naruto. He found him sitting next to Chouji and adjacent from Shikamaru and Kiba. His blue eyes were sparkling as he smiled and laughed at something somebody had said.

Sasuke looked over at Naruto throughout the entire sorting ceremony, unaware of the time that had passed. He only stopped when he heard Hashirama's voice echoing through the hall.

"Welcome!" said Hashiram, "Welcome to another year at Hogwarts! I have a few things to say to you all, and as one of them is very serious, I think it's best to get it out of the way before you become befuddled by our excellent feast…"

Hashirama cleared his throat and continued, "As you will all be aware from looking outside, our school is presently playing host to some of the Dementors of Azkaban, who are here on Ministry of Magic business."

He paused, and Sasuke remembered what Karin had said about the Senjus not being happy with the Dementors guarding the school. Tobirama did in no way hide the annoyed expression on his face.

"They are stationed at every entrance to the grounds," Hashirama continued, "and while they are with us, I must make it plain that nobody is to leave school without permission. Dementors are not to be fooled by tricks or disguises — or even Invisibility Cloaks," he added blandly, Sasuke and Naruto shared a quick look at one another, "It is not in the nature of a Dementor to understand pleading or excuses. I therefore warn each and every one of you to give them no reason to harm you. I look to the prefects, and our new Head Boy and Girl, to make sure that no student runs afoul of the Dementors," he said.

Hashirama paused again; he looked very seriously around the hall, and nobody moved or made a sound.

"On a happier note," he continued, "I am pleased to welcome Jiraiya, who agreed to teaching Defence Against the Dark Arts for another year."

Everybody started applauding and Jiraiya, sitting next to Tsunade laughed and put his hand up either as a recognition sign or for everybody to settle down. Sasuke guessed the first since he seemed to glow with pride and tried to get some sort of reaction out of Tsunade, who wouldn't budge.

"And Sasuke Uchiha-"

Sasuke's eyes widened at the mention of his name. His throat numbed up and he made direct eye-contact with the headmaster that gave him an encouraging nob followed by a warm smile.

"We are very happy that you've made a full recovery and are joining us for your fourth year." He spoke, causing a loud applause that filled the hall. Sasuke gave an awkward smile, not sure how to react at this. When the applause settled, Hashirama continued his usual speech about the rules and after a few minutes the feast finally started. They ate and chatted a bit. It was the first real conversation the three had that did not turn into an argument.

After the feast they headed to the dungeons and went straight to bed. Suigetsu and Sasuke stayed up a little, Suigetsu was talking about his summer vacation and eventually they too laid their heads down and fell asleep.

The next morning, the Slytherin trio were sitting on the breakfast table, looking at their class schedule that was handed to them by the Head Girl, since the position of Head of House was left open. This meant now everything the Slytherins needed from their Head of House had to go through Tobirama, since he was Vice-principle.

Sasuke looked down at the cursive handwriting on top of the schedule saying: " _See me in my office_ ". Tobirama had a very distinguished handwriting, Sasuke didn't need his name to be written on top of it. He looked slightly bitter at the words, before putting the schedule down. Karin took her chance and grabbed it to get a good look at it.

"Where is Arithmancy? They forgot Arithmancy." She said in a know-it-all voice.

"I quit Arithmancy. I'm taking Care of Magical Creatures."

"What?!" Karin raised her voice, "But we had that class together-"

"Almost all our classes are together, Karin. Boo-freaking-hoo, you gotta go two hours a week without your dear Sasukeeehhh~" Suigetsu said. "It is an easier class to pass. I heard if you pay close attention during the lectures you already get a passable grade."

"If you wanted something easy then you should've taken muggle studies." Karin said, "I thought we were hear to learn magic."

"And I took Care of **Magic** al Creatures," Sasuke answered. "Besides," he looked over at the Gryffindor table where he tried to find Naruto, "I think I know a few people who wouldn't mind tutoring me."

"Right, a 'few' people. Not just one blond person?" Suigetsu commented, looking at the Uchiha.

Sasuke's eyes were suddenly glaring and Suigetsu looked at the direction he was staring at. He could see Naruto sitting at the Ravenclaw table, between Ino and Sakura while adjacent of him sat Hinata.

Karin looked over her shoulder and rolled her eyes, "Really? My cousin? I thought you had come to your senses by now."

"You knew?!" Suigetsu asked shockingly.

"I was there when he screamed ' _I love you'_ before almost dying for him." Karin said slightly triggered.

"If you knew. Why didn't you say anything?"

"When should I have mentioned it? When he was in a coma or when he cut his hair to look like a troll? Oh no, I should done it through a letter or maybe during The Quidditch World Cup when we were getting attacked." Karin snapped her fingers in front of Sasuke, waking him up from his thoughts.

"In my defence…." Sasuke didn't really know what to say. "He's really cute."

"Yeah right," Karin got up from the table, picking up her bag. "He's also a massive idiot and I'll be here, waiting to tell you ' _I told you so'_." She stuck her nose in the air like she was looking down on her two friends.

"I'll be going to Aritmancy know. You know, to become a completed witch instead of wasting my time with unworthy subjects like Muggle Studies- " She looked at Suigetsu, "Or Care Of Magical Creatures. B.T.W, all you need to know is when they attack you, you kill them."

"Great advice!" Suigetsu shouted after her, laughingly. "I'll think of that next time a Sea Serpent attacks."

Karin glared at him before walking off.

"It's actually a Kelpie," Sasuke said, taking a sip of his tea.

"Oh please, you don't even know what a Kelpie is." Suigetsu got up and grabbed a handful of berries and put it in his pocket before getting a questionable look from Sasuke, "A snack during muggle studies." He proceeded to grab his bag and gave his friend a quick tap on the shoulder before walking towards his first lesson of the year. Sasuke looked back towards Naruto. His blood boiling slightly when he saw Ino wrap her arms around Naruto's, saying something that made him laugh and blush slightly. Sasuke looked angerly away. He grabbed his schedule from the table and put his backpack around one shoulder before heading to Tobirama's office. It was almost shameful how much hate he could feel, for no good reason either. Naruto was friendly, he was friends with everyone. He couldn't blame people for liking him…Or be friends with him. And yet…He sort of did and that made him feel even worse.

Sasuke stopped midway the hallway and looked at the Bloody Barron, Slytherin House's Ghost. He looked down the hall with blank staring eyes, a gaunt face, and robes stained with silver blood. He wore these heavy chains around him and there was not one person or ghost that seemed to know why. The Uchiha had no particular connection to the ghost outside of being a Slytherin. The Bloody Barron had never shown him any recognition and neither did Sasuke the Bloody Barron. However, right now it seemed the two made eye contact and something awoke in the Bloody Barron's eyes.

"What!?" Sasuke said pissed as he continued his way down to Tobirama's office. He wasn't scared of the Bloody Barron as others were. He had seen people covered in more blood than the ghost was. He walked up the flight of stairs and reached the wooden door with the silver eagle on it.

"Are you expected?" The eagle asked. "Professor Senju is a very busy man. He wouldn't like to be bothers with minor inconveniences in school schedules."

Sasuke held up his schedule, holding his finger on Tobirama's note.

"Very well," The eagle almost sounded bitter, "he'll be done shortly. You may enter then."

Sasuke leaned against the brick wall for what felt like forever, but in reality were only about five minutes. The door swung open and to his surprise he could see Neji walking out of the office.

"Hey," Neji said softly, holding the door open for Sasuke to enter. The Uchiha gave him a small nod before walking inside the office. He could see Tobirama writing something down while books were magically moving through the room. Sasuke would have thought the office was a small library with all the books.

"Mr. Uchiha," Tobirama said in a monotone voice. "Take a seat."

Sasuke put his bag on the floor and sat down at the chair in front of Tobirama's desk. The parchment rolled up and flew across the room to the cabin where it was stored.

"We'll have to discuss how you will be catching up on lost lessons this years." Tobirama stated while book flew from another shelf and opened on the table on a page that contained Sasuke's name.

"I see you'll need extra practical lessons for both Herbology and Potions. As for Charms, Defence Against the Darks and Transfiguration…I suggest you go to your classes and, if faced with difficulties, we can take the proper actions to get you back on track…." He fell quiet, looking down at the book. After an uncomfortable silence that lasted longer than either wanted, Tobirama looked up.

"…Yeah?" Sasuke said unsure. He thought Tobirama was just voicing his thoughts out loud, not asking him questions. It was hard to tell with that superior voice the Senju had.

"This is going to be hard for you." Tobirama spoke harshly, "I have seen you at potions…And I can only assume Herbology isn't one of your strong subjects when it comes to potting plants or trimming leaves. Books aren't going to get you there…" He moved his hand and a scroll from the pile was summoned to his desk and rolled open in the air so Tobirama could quickly look through it.

"If you quit Quidditch and maybe drop the extra subjects you might be able to catch up. It is the best you make from your circumstances."

Sasuke frowned at this.

"My circumstances." He repeated. "I am not going to drop any subjects and I am not going to quit Quidditch."

"Then there will be a big chance you will have to repeat the year." Tobirama said, "If you are going to take the extra subjects and Quidditch. Your schedule will be packed, and it will overwhelm you. "

"Then the conclusion is obvious." Sasuke said, "You don't know me, at all."

Tobirama remained quiet for a moment before indicating the scroll to go back to the self and giving the Uchiha his full attention.

"I have known seven generations of Uchihas. I have taught many of them…."

"I am not like them."

"You misunderstand me." Tobirama spoke patiently, "Your ancestors were capable wizards and witches. You, however, need more guidance."

Sasuke got up from the chair and grabbed his bag from the floor. He wasn't going to stay if Tobirama was just going to tell him that he wasn't any good.

"Then we don't have much to talk about, do we?" he said before walking towards the door.

"Your ancestors were raised by witches and wizards, were taught from a young age and were surrounded by magic."

Sasuke looked over his shoulder at this potions professor.

"You lost everything you used to know up to the age of eight. You were raised surrounded by muggles, by a muggle. You didn't know magic existed until you were eleven. If you think I am saying things to mock you, you're wrong. I am being realistic, all the magic you know comes from scrolls and books. You don't have first-hand experience when it comes to brewing Pepperup Potion or cutting devil's snare. You are depended on your teachers as much as muggleborns are."

Sasuke turned around, looking over at Tobirama sitting behind his desk.

"You have missed almost an entire school-year. You have a lot to catch up on. So, either sit down and find a realistic approach or walk away and live inside your fantasy world where you are the most talented wizard known to this generation."

Sasuke grip around the shoulder strap (of his backpack) tightened. He hated Tobirama. He hated him so much he couldn't decide if he would kill Itachi or Tobirama if the opportunity was there.

"Fine," Sasuke spoke, "I am going to continue playing Quidditch, and I won't drop any of my subjects." He said between gritted teeth.

Tobirama looked through some books and said, "I suggest you stay over the holidays and use that time to catch up. In the meantime I will plan an two hours of extra potion in your schedule where you can sit in my classroom and brew several potions. Do bring both your third and fourth year book with you and as for herbology I'll make sure I find somebody with the necessary skillset who has an opening in their schedule during the weekend. I'm afraid Professor Iruka has a very busy schedule as it is."

Tobirama wrote it down on Sasuke schedule before handing it back. Sasuke walked to his desk to take his schedule back, put Tobirama extracted his hand and Sasuke gave the Senju an angry glare.

"If you do get overwhelmed, consider my advice." He handed the schedule to Sasuke, who stormed off his office. His eyes turning scarlet.


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24 "Werewolf Pup"

Sasuke Uchiha was called many things through out the years. When he went to Muggle school he was often deemed The Trouble maker, The Sinner and even ' The devil' (as a particular teacher called him). These weren't unjust accusations thrown towards him. He could not get along with anybody, he didn't bother to even pretend to be polite to people he despised. He loathed every subject and everything about the Muggle school enraged him. For some reason, he felt like a fish asked to climb a tree. It wasn't his pup of tea. Over the summer when he became elven years of age, Kakashi Hatake, had told him he was a wizards and everything became so clear to him. Magic strongly flows through his veins; spells, enchantments and jinxes were his specialties and Hogwarts was his home. He became the protégé, the first of his class and the brightest wizard of their generation. But this particular week, Sasuke felt like he was weak, dumb and the biggest joke of the wizarding world.

Only last week he managed to get trapped by a particularly odd plant they were told to collect their leaves from. Instead of gently cutting the leaves, Sasuke cut straight down the stems causing the plant to ache and literally grab him and dangle him upside down. Everybody in their class was laughing, it seemed they were all well aware that they were not supposed to cut the stems, but Sasuke had no idea as that fact was never mentioned in his Herbology book. All it had written about it was that you had to be careful…Why exactly wasn't specified. Professor Yamato was trying to defend him, reminding the class that he hadn't told them the consequences of hurting the delicate plant, they too would all be dangling upside down. This didn't make Sasuke feel better, at all.

Unfortunately, this wasn't the only time he had made a grave mistake. During Care of Magical Creature, Professor Asuna had brought a Streeler to observe during his class. A Streeler was a giant snail that changed colour every hour. Sasuke had seen this magical creature in a book he had read over the summer. What was not mentioned in the book was that their slime was poisonous and Sasuke's arm swelled up three times the size and he was forced to go to the hospital wing where Lady Shizune had to collaborate with professor Senju about the appropriate antidote. He was forced to stay over night and was only able to go to his classes the next morning. The news of his immediate return to the hospital wing had caused rumours to spread through the school. It varied from suffering of a light illness to dying from a curse. Sasuke had actually preferred the dying over telling Naruto what had actually happened. He had tried to play it off rather cool by telling him he had unknowingly touched the slime track, but Naruto knew better. Afterall Streeler's leave a green slime trail and not transparent as most non magical snails did.

By now, Sasuke felt his fourth year wasn't going to be as smooth and his first and second year were. He was at the library writing his essay for Astronomy, the only thing keeping his sore left hand arm writing was the pure hatred he felt towards Tobirama Senju. If he were to die, he would come back s a ghost and finish his education just to rub it in Tobirama's face. He was Sasuke Uchiha, the protégé, first of his class the brightest wizard of his generation. He was an Uchiha, he was going to go back to being the best in everything as he had been. After finishing his essay for Astronomy he continued to translate the passage of ancient runes and he notices something. Memorising the runes went very smoothly. He took one look at his book and was capable of translating most of the passage before turning back to his book to flip the page and find the few symbols that were not mentioned in the first couple of pages. He finished the passage in ten minutes and looked at the translated work to see if it made any sense...And it did.

"Why are you angry?"

Sasuke did not look up from the page when he heard Karin's voice. His friend took a seat adjacent from him, opening her bag and grabbing her book.

"What…" He put the parchment down and was confronted with Karin holding up a pocket mirror in front of his face. He could see the Sharingan activated in his eyes and he was surprised he hadn't noticed it.

"Oh," Sasuke said, deactivating them, "I was reminded of Tobirama." He admitted, resting his sore arm on the table.

"You already translated that entire passage?" Karin frowned and grabbed the parchment from Sasuke to read over it. Sasuke wasn't paying Karin more attention, he was already reading through a Herbology book. Karin shoved the parchment over the table and opened her Arithmancy book.

"I'm surprised to see you here," Karin said after a ten second of silence. Sasuke grunted at this. Why was she still talking, didn't she see him studying?

"I was expecting you to be at Quidditch practice now-"

Sasuke slammed his book down on the table and gave her an expression Karin could only guess meant ,:"I'm going to kill you."

"I hope Anko won't make you run extra laps for being late." She said nonchalant, pushing her glasses up. "Like Zabuza used to do." she added.

Sasuke grabbed his books from the table and picked up his backpack; he ran out of the library. The librarian didn't even get the chance to scold him. Sasuke was already down the hallway. He ran down the stairs to the dungeons he threw his books on his bed and opened his trunk trying to find his Quidditch supplies.

"Binky!" He shouted as he threw his clothes off and grabbed his Quidditch clothes that were to his surprise, still wet and dirty from last practice. The house elf apparated in the dungeon.

"yes master," the house elf said in a soft almost scared voice. She was bend forward, her arms moving from the stomach to her face. Like she was torn between what to protect first if something was thrown towards her.

"You were supposed to wash this!" Sasuke wasn't in the mood to be particular kind and sensitive towards her. All he was thinking about is how Anko, their new Quidditch captain, was going to punish him for being late to their practice session. This was only their second official training.

"B-But…Master told B-Binky to...To…Wash the pile of clothes o-on the bed…N-not the..Trunk." Sasuke was trying to put his protective gear on and looked over his shoulder at Binky who got scared by the sudden movement.

"it is Binky's fault! Stupid Binky! Stupid Binky! Always look inside the trunk-"

"Enough!" Sasuke raised his voice. "Nevermind! Can you magically make this uniform not smell like a sweat, dirt and despair in these next three seconds?"

Binky remained quiet, looking scared as she so often did.

"I take that as no" Sasuke walked out of the dormitory, but remained still at the door. He was late anyway, Anko was going to be mad weather he was ten minutes late or twenty. He turned around to look at his sobbing house elf.

"Binky, it is not your fault. I should have put it on my bed. I should have been more specific. I don't know why I have put them in the trunk. This is on me. So, if you wouldn't mind digging up my Quidditch robes and washing them after every practice from now on. That would be awesome." Sasuke said.

"Y-yes, of course, master!" Binky responded. Sasuke wanted to walk away. He ran off to the quidditch field where he could already see his team practicing on their broom sticks. The weather was grey, but it wasn't raining outside like it used to the past couple of days. Before Sasuke could even put the broomstick between his legs, he saw Anko dive down and jump off, running a few passes towards him before coming to an holt. Everybody stopped practicing and Sakon and Ukon were flying above them, smirking to see the scolding from up close.

"You're late, Uchiha." Anko stated firmly, "Don't let it happen again."

Sasuke could hear Sakon and Ukon curse loudly. They always got a big scolding from Zabuza when they were late. Anko, seemed to know whom to intimidate and whom to show mutual respect to get her team to perform their best.

"It won't." Sasuke gave her a confirming nod. Anko gave him a warms smile and put her hand on his shoulder, squeezing it in a supportive matter.

"He is not taking this serious at all," Ukon spoke as he landed behind Anko.

"He has spend too much of his time between muggles. He doesn't know his priorities anymore!" Sakon added as he landed too, and like two devils. They each stood on one side of Anko, whispering in her ear.

"You know what they say," Ukon said

"Muggles suck away the magic. Squibs are made that way." Sakon whispered.

It was very well known amongst the Slytherins that Sasuke Uchiha lived in the muggle world, in a muggle town with a muggle man who he considered a father figure in his life. Yet, many like to rub in how little Sasuke knew about the basics of wizarding life. It somehow made others feel superior over him. Sasuke didn't mind them, they could think whatever they wanted. The truth was, if Sasuke were to duel both Ukon and Sakon he could beat them both. He bet he didn't even need his wand to knock them both out.

Anko squinted her eyes and Sasuke was slightly surprised that Ukon and Sakon had gotten to her. But she proceeded to push her broom stick on the grass and bump against Sasuke shoulder towards the three Gryffindors that were wearing their Quidditch robes and were walking onto the field.

"What are you doing here, Dog breath? Quidditch field is already booked by the Slytherins!" Anko said determined, standing tall like a big oak tree unable to be pushed aside.

"Hey Ugly, I don't want to be in the same pitch with you snakes either!" Kiba barked back.

"What are you doing here?" Sasuke walked towards him. Kiba held out a scroll and Sasuke grabbed it, giving the boy an arrogant expression before quickly reading the scroll.

"I, Professor Tsunade, Head of Gryffindor house, hereby give the Gryffindor Quidditch team special clearance to use the Quidditch pitch due the sudden resignation of the former Gryffindor captain and the reassignment of the new captain…."

"You got a new captain?" Sasuke lowered the scroll and gave it to Anko. By now Neji, Tayuya, and Kidomaru came to see what was happening.

"Sure do," Kiba said as more of the Gryffindors came on to the field.

"Who is it?"

Kiba turned his head and looked over at Naruto that was jogging towards them. His bangs were tied back with a hairpin and he was holding his Nimbus 2000 with both hands. On his scarlet Quidditch robes was a pin that had 'captain' written on it.

"Hey, uhm…" He pushed a few of his teammates aside so he could stand face to face to Anko. He leaned slightly on his broomstick, catching his breath in a matter of seconds.

Anko, who used to look down at Naruto because he was a head smaller, frowned slightly when she noticed he had almost surpassed her.

" …Sorry about this. See, our former captain has dragon pocks, we don't know when she will be up and about…." Anko gave a confirming nod at this. The tension went down when both captains seems to come to understanding. "…Y'know, she has been our caption for three years now and it hard to now have a different dynamic going and since this all happened so soon."

"So you want us to pack it up," Anko said a bit harshly.

"Ya can't keep us from training!" Sakon protested angerly.

"I do get it is unfair towards your team…Because you did book the pitch first." Naruto acknowledged. "I'm willing to just split the field in half. So, both teams can have some training done without disturbing the other?" he suggested, sticking his hand out. Anko shook it and nodded.

"We split it in the middle so each can have three goal hopes to practice on." Anko added.

"Oh no!" Ukon shouted. "I am not going to be sharing a pitch with a…With as.." He made a disgusting sound looking over at the Gryffindor team. Sasuke knew a lot of Slytherins despised the Gryffindors, but for Ukon to be this disturbed came as quite the surprise.

"With some Werewolf pup!" Sakon finished his twin brother's sentence.

Sasuke frowned, what kind of insult was this supposed to be?

Kiba, enraged by the words suddenly launched himself towards Sakon and pinned him on the grass. He punched the Slytherin beater in the face before he was being tackled by Ukon. The second Slytherin beater was holding his bat and smacked it down Kiba's face. Kiba's nose was bleeding and most likely broken, his rage grew and he growled like a dog and transformed into his animal form. He pushed Ukon down and his jaws clenched around the arm holding the bat. He tore off a big chuck of flesh from Ukon's arm causing the beater to cry in pain, dropping the bat on the grass. Everything was happening so fast. Nobody was even able to respond before everything went down.

"Get off!"

"Stop it!"

Naruto tackled the big white dog and pushed him away from the Slytherins. Neji and Anko pulled Ukon up who was holding his injured arm close to his chest, crying and whaling.

"HE BIT ME, HE BIT ME!" Ukon cried. "HE INFECTED ME!"

Sakon, furious with the sight of his twin brother's blood, grabbed his wand and pointed it at the white dog. Naruto covered Kiba behind him, ready to take the hit for him. Sakon's wand flew out of his hand before he could even speak. He turned his head and felt betrayal when he saw Sasuke holding his wand out.

"He bit my brother! He wants to taint him with his cursed blood!" Sakon shouted, "This half-breed must die for what he has done to my twin!" He looked at Kiba,"one shred of his blood is worth more than your tainted family! Werewolf!"

"I'LL HAVE FATHER KILL THEM. THAT ENTIRE WERWOLF FAMILY!" Sakon shouted.

Kiba stood quietly behind Naruto. His tail tugged away, his ears drooping. If Sasuke didn't know any better, he would have thought the dog was crying. Kiba ran off, on all fours.

"KIBA NO!" Naruto shouted watching his friend run off. Kiba was so fast, Naruto could already see him run out of sight before he could follow him. He turned to Sakon. His eyes looked furious and he wans grinding his teeth.

"I know Kiba wasn't supposed to bite your brother. But you crossed the line. He is every much the wizard you or your brother are. Your two are not worth a sickle more than Kiba or his family!" Naruto grabbed Sakon by his collar.

"And I'll be damned if I hear those filthy words from your mouth every again." He pushed him away, causing the boy to fall on the grass.

"We have to get him to Lady Shizune," Anko said, wrapping her cloak around the wound.

"No, I need an expert on Werewolf bites!" he argued. "Send for my father!"

"I'll write father! That dog will be put down for this!" Ukon hissed and grabbed his twin from one side while Anko supported the other. They both helped him back towards the castle. Kidomaru, picked up the bats and gave a nonchalant look towards Neji and Sasuke before walking away. Neji gave Sasuke a quick look before moving his shoulders up and down and headed back to the castle.

"What now, cousin?" Akari asked, she was the Gryffindor Seeker and a witch from the Uzumaki clan. Sasuke could tell from her scarlet hair.

Naruto looked troubled for a bit before coming to a decision.

"No practice today. I will reschedule it for later this week. Just, go back to the castle." He said. The Gryffindor team picked up their broomsticks and walked away. Some muttering about what had happened, other looking annoyed that they didn't get to train today due to the chaos.

"What are you going to do?" Sasuke asked as they were the only two left on the field.

"Look for Kiba, before the dementors get him."

"I can help you with that." Sasuke offered.

Naruto gave him a soft smile and nodded.

"I would like that," he said. They put their brooms in the shed before heading towards the direction they saw the big white dog run off to.

"So, that was intense." Sasuke said. "I had no idea Kiba could lose it like that. Ukon and Sakon have always been a bunch of jerks, but to overreact like that."

"Overreact?" Naruto looked over to Sasuke, his expression told the Uchiha that he disagreed with him on so many regards. "I am glad he did not tore their faces off."

"For being called a pup?" Sasuke raised a questionable eyebrow.

Naruto stopped walking and gave Sasuke a questionable look. Like he was figuring out if they had heard the same conversation.

"He called Kiba a werewolf pup." He said like the phrase was supposed to be supper offensive.

"Well…He can transform into a dog. I mean…I get where they were coming from."

"I can't believe you agree with them." Naruto said horrified and angry. He continued walking, leaving Sasuke behind.

"He can turn to a huge dog."

"He is an Anamagi," Naruto turned his head to look at him, "Anamagi transform at will unlike Werewolves, they transform every full moon without wanting to."

"I know that!" Sasuke said, jogging so could catch up to Naruto. "I'm just saying maybe that's why they called him a werewolf pup or whatever…"

"No," Naruto said, "His mother is werewolf. That's why they called him Werewolf pup."

Sasuke stopped walking. Did he hear Naruto correctly?

"Wait, his mum is a real werewolf?" Sasuke looked confused, "How do they even know?"

" Sakon and Ukon's dad is a highly ranked ministry officer. He probably told them."

"How does he know?"

"Because!" Naruto turned around, feeling a bit annoyed but upon seeing Sasuke's face he seemed to calm down petty quickly. It is like he realised for a second that Sasuke, the pure blood wizard of the noble and old Uchiha clan, had no clue how things worked in the wizarding world.

"Because…It's mandatory. If you are bitten by a werewolf you are required by law to report this to the ministry. Your children and grandchildren will be marked down as contaminated."

"I had no idea…"

Naruto's expression softened. He gave Sasuke a smile. The Uchiha caught up to him and they continued looking for Kiba.

"There is a really big hatred towards half-breeds and werewolves. They think Half-breeds are just as bad a muggleborns and are not even considered human to some people. And werewolves, they have been hated for centuries by wizard kind. They are discriminated against and it really hard to get a job. The transformations are painful and you have no control over what you do when you are in the wolf form. That was until the invention of wolfsbane. They can now at least have control when they are in their wolf's body. But…It is a very difficult potion to brew and if you buy them from potion masters they are extremely expensive."

"That's horrible…" Sasuke said, "The Ministry should really just give every Werewolf the potion so they can't unknowingly hurt or infect other people. Then nobody would be scared of them."

"yeah, right…" Naruto had a sad look on his face, "They keep the prices up because they don't thrust Werewolves. They think if they keep their consciousness they would target people and infect them on purpose."

"I guess in many ways it really doesn't matter if you are a muggle or a wizard. Both societies are pretty fucking stupid." Sasuke looked over at the castle, he couldn't see any dementors flying around the high towers anymore. It was odd, because they had been there for a while.

"What?" Naruto asked, looking at the castle.

"The dementors, they are not flying around the castle."

"So?"

"If they are not flying around the castle it means they have gone somewhere else…Or maybe to somebody else" Sasuke said. He could see Naruto process his words before it clicked in his head.

"Kiba!"

"KIBA!" He shouted, running up front.

Sasuke was running close behind him. He was doubtful if they had to go back to the castle and get help from any of the teachers, but he couldn't let Naruto merch alone like that. Sasuke had never faced a dementor before, he had only seen them for the first time a few weeks ago. He wasn't sure how to defend Naruto from them or Kiba for that matter.

The air around them had frozen: Sasuke's breath caught and solidified in his chest. Shapes moved out in the darkness, swirling figures of concentrated blackness, moving in a great wave towards the forbidden forest, their faces hooded and their breath rattling. He could see Kiba lying on the dirt, hugging his legs and shutting his eyes. He was back in his human form and flooding around him were three dementors. Up close the hooded figures looked even more displeasing than they did from a distant.

"Expecto Patronum!" Naruto shouted.

Out of the tip of his wand burst a cloud of mist that shaped itself in a blinding dazzling silver fox. It ran elegantly towards his friend, running around him and chasing the dementors away.

Sasuke looked in awe at the spell, he had known many spells, many defensive spells, but none as beautiful as the one Naruto used to attack the dementors. Sasuke was woken up from his thoughts when Naruto shouted at him to help him lift Kiba up. Sasuke helping Kiba up, holding him up from the left side as Naruto did the same from the right side.

"Kiba, Kiba…Talk to me. Kiba!" Naruto slapped softly on his friend's cheek. Kiba looked ahead of him with emotionless eyes that said nothing. His skin was as cold as ice.

"Help me bring him to the castle!" Naruto said and Sasuke didn't protest. The silver fox was leading the way , walking in front of them. It was only when they were close enough to the castle and away from the dementors that it disappeared.

"Man, what where you thinking running of this far!" Naruto scolded his friend, something in his voice reminded Sasuke a little of Karin and…Well…Kushina. "You should have stayed in your animal form! Dementor's are blind…"

Naruto couldn't finish his thought when Kiba soft voice finally spoke: "I…I lost concentration…"

"Should we bring him to Lady Shizune?" Sasuke asked, worried for the boy's well-being.

"No, no…Help me get him to Gryffindor Tower." Naruto said, he gave Sasuke a pleading look.

"Lead the way…" Sasuke said, he helped Kiba up the stairs and to the portrait of the fat Lady. On their way they ran across Shikamaru and Chouji. Chouji picked Kiba up like he was a sack of crisps and carried him inside as Shikamaru asked what had happened.

It seemed the rumours had spread quickly, but the tales changed and the version Shikamaru heard was that Kiba turned into a werewolf and attacked the Slytherin beaters and infected one of them with his dirty blood while the other fought him off like a hero. Of course, everything about it sounded impossible. Naruto had quickly told him what really happened.

"This is very troublesome. Kiba has really gotten himself in trouble." Shikamaru said, shaking his head while he had a clear expression of concern on his face.

Sasuke didn't catch much more of their conversation. Shikamaru and Naruto had both gone inside the tower and Sasuke hadn't seen any of The Troublesome Four during dinner. He felt concerned and he wasn't sure exactly why. He didn't care about Kiba, not at all…But he did care about Naruto and Naruto was good friends with Kiba. Another thing that was bothering him were the dementors. They were creeping outside and attacked students without a second thought when they wandered too far from the castle. Sasuke didn't like to admit it, but he felt scared. Especially after what they had done to Kiba.

He had told Karin and Suigetsu everything that had happened from the Quidditch pitch to the forbidden forest. From the moment the Gryffindors came on the field to Naruto and him supporting Kiba back to the castle.

"Well, I never really liked Kiba." Karin said, "But I never wanted him thrown in Azkaban." Karin said, cutting a piece of chicken and eating it slowly. When she looked up at her two friends, she noticed both of them gave her a questionable look.

"He bit Sakon's arm. He is going to pay the big price for that." Karin said casually.

"It was just a falling out." Sasuke said. "I had a bunch of them with Neji. You don't see Hiashi throwing me in Azkaban."

"Because you're an Uchiha." Karin said, taking a sip of water to wash the dry chicken away. "You two are honestly hopeless without me.' She stated, shaking her head. She leaned in the table to whisper to them.

"The twin's father is a very high Ministry official. He is the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. He has many powerful connections and if he doesn't find a way to get rid of Kiba within the law. I'm sure he will get rid of him in other ways. If catch my hint." Karin whispered.

Suigetsu and Sasuke shared a look.

"It is just a small bite…" Sasuke said.

"It doesn't matter. If Kiba had only scratched one of them they would have made a big deal out of it. Kiba's mother is a Werewolf." She looked around her, checking if anybody was eavesdropping. "Now Kiba and Hana aren't Werewolves themselves, but their mother was infected before they were born. So, people say they are contaminated. There is not much known about werewolves, but the prejudice against them…" Karin didn't even finish her sentence.

"So…They will accuse him from trying to contaminate them? The children of a high ministry officer? That's probably enough grounds to get him in Azkaban?" Suigetsu raised an eyebrow.

"But he is not a werewolf. His bites and scratches don't do anything." Sasuke said.

"It's cruel world. He should have thought twice before attacking Sakon and Ukon." Karin said, eating her salad in piece.

"I bet Naruto and his friends are trying to think of something to prevent it from happening." Sasuke muttered, poking his fork in the steamed vegetables.

"I bet whatever it is, it will get them in trouble." Karin added.

"So…" Suigetsu bit down on the chicken drumstick, "are we going to safe their asses?"

Karin and Sasuke shared a look before they both looked at Suigetsu.

"Yes."


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25 The Forbidden Forest**

Headmaster Hashirama was a kind and gentle men. He was loved by his faculty members, the student and the wizarding world. He had many hobbies, but his favourite was tending to his bonsais and it showed. His office was filled with them. He was busy trimming the leaves, chuckling and calming the magical mini-three that was wiggling its branches, trying to get away like a child from a unwanted haircut.

"There, there. Almost done," Hashirama said out loud. He was already in his pyjamas, ready to finish the last couple of tasks before heading to bed and entering a peaceful dream. Or…So he thought.

The door of his office was slammed open and he knew there was only one person in the world that got passed the gargoyle statues without his permission and that men looked furious, holding Naruto Uzumaki by his collar of his uniform and Sakura Haruno by the other.

"Brother-" Hashirama looked surprised, putting his wand away as he looked at Sakura who was in tears and Naruto who was still shouting. Tobirama pushed him forward with one hand, and it was incredible to see the old man had enough strength to push the teenager on the cold floor.

"I didn't do nothing, believe me!" Naruto shouted, getting up from the floor and glaring at the old men behind him.

"Yes, like you said you happened to be sleep walking under your invisibility cloak and raiding my classroom by accident." Tobirama folded his arms and glared at the two.

"We didn't mean…" Sakura looked very scared, not even raising her eyes up from the floor. Naruto's expression turned guilty and he turned his head towards the headmaster.

"It was me, she didn't do anything. Don't punish her." Naruto pleaded for her.

"Both of you, calm down." Hashirama said, "Now, tell me what happened." He sat down and looked at the two fifth-years. Naruto and Sakura shared a look, not sure what to say.

"They were out of their common rooms, past curfew and they were stealing from my cupboard." Tobirama grunted. "Valerian spring, Lethe River water, and mistletoe berries."

"Well, those are very common ingredient-" Hashirama was cut off quickly.

"Ingredients for a Forgetfulness potions, brother. Despite the fact they are common ingredients, it does not excuse stealing them." Tobirama gave Naruto a stern look.

"It called The Student's Cupboard, if we are not allowed to get stuff from there then why name it that way!?"

"You're allowed to get ingredients during my lessons, when I tell you to. Not when it pleases you, Mr Uzumaki." Tobirama said not appreciating the withy comment.

Sakura pushed her elbow in between Naruto's ribs, causing him to hiss in pain.

"Why did you feel the need to raid this cupboard in the middle of the night?" Hashirama asked.

"Because…." Naruto was trying to think of what to say or how to say it. Just when he was about to confess everything that had happened from to Quidditch field where Kiba lost his temper and transformed into his Animagus from and bit one of the Slytherin Beaters to Shikamaru's plan on how to compromise the owl the Slytherin twins must have send to their high ministry official father to brewing a forgetfulness potion so the twins would not remember what had happened. He would have to make sure they believed it was all his idea and had nothing to do with any of his friends even if that meant they would punish him badly for it. There was no way they would consider suspending him.

"Because…." Naruto was about to talk when a knock was heard from the office door. All four of them turned their head to the heavy door.

"Come in," Hashirama said causing Iruka to walk inside.

"Sorry for the interruption headmaster," Iruka apologised, "If found these three outside of their common room. They were coming from the infirmary."

As the muggle-study professor stepped aside the three Slytherins were all staring at the floor. Karin was nervously playing with her fingers while Suigetsu sighed deeply and Sasuke looked more annoyed than usual, glaring from Suigetsu to Karin and back to Suigetsu.

"Are we sure today is no curfew day?" Hashirama joked. Iruka could laugh at this, but Tobirama looked very angry.

"And what are you three doing outside of the dungeons?" Tobirama asked in a strict tone.

The Slytherin trio eyed one another for a mere second.

"I was looking for my cat!" Karin said, "She ran away because she got scared from Sasuke's hawk. I was afraid something would happen to her so I was actually looking for a teacher, since we don't have a head of house at the moment." Karin said, the words came so natural to her, Naruto was sure she had practiced the excused in front of a mirror.

"I was going to the infirmary because I have a stomach bug." Suigetsu said very nonchalant.

"I had a headache so I went with Suigetsu. We came across Karin and then Iruka found us-"

"Professor Iruka," Hashirama said firmly.

"Professor…Iruka…" Sasuke said, side eyeing the muggle studies teacher.

"We know we were not supposed to be out bed, but we don't have a head of house to go to. We had no choice." Karin repeated, putting her most innocent looking face up.

"It is really not our fault we are supposed to go to Professor Senju and his office is on the other side of the school. The infirmary was closer." Suigetsu added.

"And you found Lady Shizune, I supposed she had given you the Antro Accubatant Potion for you to be so well in our presence." Hashirama looked at Suigetsu, making the boy uncomfortable.

"Uhm...Yeah, she did." Suigetsu said, a bit of sweat was piling up on his forehead.

"And surly a smart boy like you remembers to colour of such potion?" Hashirama smiled. Suigetus looked quickly at Sasuke who turned his head to Karin who shook her head ever so slightly.

"Blue!" Suigetsu said and eased down a bit when Hashirama sat back in his chair.

"There is no Antro Accubatant potion. There is a pill however-"

"She did!" Sasuke quickly said, "she just gave you a blue sport drinks with it for your…dehydration. Remember."

"Oh right! Yeah! Oh wow I am so sleepy I must have forgotten."

"Yes, indeed." Sasuke said. Hashirama gave him a nostalgic look, as if he was remembering something or someone.

"Maybe." He said, causing the Slytherin Trio to look relieved for a mere second: "But that would be odd ….Because she is not currently in the castle."

"Then I don't know who the lady in the infirmary is….You guys should check it out…." Suigetsu said awkwardly trying to commit to the lie.

"So now I have you three doing something curious in the infirmary and these two sneaking in cupboards." Hashirama pointed at the students. "Is anybody going to tell me why?"

The room fell quiet. Karin, Suigetsu and Sakura had their eyes glued on to their feet while Naruto an Sasuke looked at one another for moment.

"I am going to tell them." Sasuke said.

"No, we could all get in so much trouble," Naruto hissed.

"Not more than we are in now thanks to you." Sasuke said looking angerly away from Naruto.

Naruto sighed and looked at Hashirama:"We're having a prank war."

"We were trying to get away after locking Naruto inside a cupboard. He deserved it really" Sasuke said. Naruto was impressed how Sasuke was such a natural lair.

"Yes and Sakura was with me. She got us out of there and I put the cloak around us two. We were not raiding the cupboard we were putting everything that fell back inside." Naruto said.

"We only did it because Naruto dyed Karin's cat red. He enchanted it to look like a lion. That is why we were in the infirmary. We were looking for something that could turn her back normal." Sasuke said before looking back at Naruto.

"And that is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth." Naruto said, sweating slightly as he gave the headmaster a big, teeth showing, smile.

"We should get some credits for that at least." Sasuke muttered.

Hashirama remained quiet, scanning Sasuke before looking over at Naruto.

"Well I can't deny nor confirm that." He said honestly, "What I do know is that you are out past curfew and you are wandering outside your common rooms and for that I will take away twenty points from each."

"Twenty points?!" All students looked in disbelieve.

"It is forbidden to be outside of your common room past curfew as is being in the infirmary past visiting hours and inside teacher's classroom."

Tobirama looked pleased at his brother's decision.

"And…"

"What twenty points were not enough?" Suigetsu muttered, getting an elbow between his ribs by Karin…Again.

"You five shall be assisting professor Asuna this Thursday night."

"Thursday night. Like…Past curfew?" Sasuke raised a questionable eyebrow. "Counterproductive."

"You do not question the headmaster, Mr Uchiha." Iruka said in a stern voice. For the first time it wasn't Tobirama who scolded Sasuke. The Uchiha wasn't sure if he was as scared for Iruka as he was for Tobirama.

"You five like to be out past curfew. I'll have you experience first hand why you ought to stay inside your common room." Hashirama said. "That will be all. Now proceed to your common rooms and if you do not want to be suspended, you refrain from hanging out in the hall ways."

The five students sighed deeply before walking outside of the office and into the hallway.

"You are an Uzumaki, how did you not sense Iruka?" Suigetsu glared at Karin.

"You two kept arguing and breaking my focus."

"We only argued because your plan did not work." Sasuke said.

"My plan didn't work because you two can't even get out of one inconvenience without me." Karin hissed.

"Sakon and Ukon forget their own freaking names. They thought they were both looking at a mirror!" Suigetsu turned to Sasuke, "I thought you said you used a memory charm before." Suigetsu looked past Karin to Sasuke.

"I did….I can't help my spell was too powerful for their tiny minds."

"You just don't have as much control over your magic as you believe you have." Karin said, giving Sasuke an arrogant look from the corner of her eye.

"Come again, bitch."

"Who're you calling bitch, dick!"

"Enough." Naruto got in between Karin and Sasuke, wrapping an arm around both.

"What did you three even do?"

"Cleaning your mess, obviously." Sasuke and Karin said at the same time, glaring at Naruto. Naruto smiled nervously, feeling sweat pile up on his forehead, both Slytherins moved away from him, slapping the arm around them away.

"We were supposed to sneak inside the infirmary and place a memory charm on the Sakon and Ukon, but….Well the charm worked a bit too well." Sasuke sighed, "I tried reversing it and casting it again. It took a total of four times before I got to the point they had most of their memories….Except for the last couple of months.

"You guys did!" Naruto exclaimed. "You three did it!"

"Of course, I always effectively clean up the messes you leave behind." Karin said annoyed, "What did you two do in Tobirama's cupboard?"

"Getting ingredients for a forgetfulness potion. We were brewing it in the girl's bathroom." Sakura answered. "The one that is haunted, we figured nobody goes there anyway."

"If Shikamaru and Chouji succeeded in bringing down the owl, Kiba is saved." Naruto said joyful.

"Not thanks to you, moron." Karin said arrogantly as she walked around the corner towards the dungeons. Suigetsu chuckled as he followed her. Naruto's eyes saddened slightly at this. Not in a pitiful way, there were deeper feelings expressed on his face. Guilt perhaps, Sasuke wasn't sure, but he hated the expression on the Gyrrindor's face.

"You did safe him earlier today." Sasuke spoke, "From the dementors." Sasuke said as he came to a full stop. He was supposed to follow Karin and Suigetsu towards the dungeons and yet he stopped in front of the stairwells Naruto was supposed to climb to get to his common room.

"Oh yeah…Guess we did all play a part in helping Kiba." Naruto scratched the back of his head, something he did often when he was nervous. His eyes locked with Sasuke's and for a moment they stood there in silence, but the moment was ruined quickly by Sakura scolding Naruto for hanging around the halls while the headmaster clearly stated they shouldn't. Naruto had quickly apologised and ran up the stair wells, towards the Gryffindor common room.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed, glaring at the pink haired girl running up the stairs next to Naruto. How he wished she would fall down and hit her big head on the stairs. He scoffed before walking towards the dungeons.

Thursday night came fast and Sasuke felt already very tired from his classes and Quidditch practice. The sun was still shining, but was fading slowly behind the horizon. At the Cabin he already saw Karin, Suigetsu, Sakura and Naruto waiting. Sakura was talking to Naruto, laughing at something he had said, teasingly punching him in his upper arm. His mood was already bad and the punishment hadn't even officially begun.

"What do you think we have to do?" Suigetsu asked, sitting at the doorsteps and looking at the large pumpkin growing in the garden. Karin stared over at the dementors flying over the castle. She stiffened before looking away.

"Probably feeding some Flobberworms, that is all we do during his lessons anyway." Sasuke said, glaring over at Sakura and Naruto. The Gryffindor hadn't even noticed him yet and it annoyed him more.

"Is it me or are those two getting very close?" He whispered to Suigetsu and Karin.

"Pretty much, she stayed over for a week before the Quidditch World cup. Naruto showed her around the wizarding village," Karin said. "Annoying. He kept going on how good of a witch she is and how smart she is…Tch, I can cast better spell than that muggle born."

"Tch, she is very….Annoying." Sasuke said, folding his arms and forcing his glare away from Sakura.

"You should watch out, one might think you are jealous." Suigetsu grinned, "are you? Are you jealous of how close they are?"

"Of course not!" Sasuke hissed, "I'm twice the sorcerer she is."

"Then why bother caring?" Karin asked, she didn't seem as interested in the conversation as Suigetsu was. Understandable, it was her annoying cousin Sasuke had been with…Sasuke still loved.

"I am not bothered."

"I thought you broke up with him, anyway." Suigetsu smiled, "regrets?"

"Shut up." Sasuke was relieved for a moment to see Asuna's walking up towards the cabin, next to him was Lee.

"LEE!" Naruto shouted running towards him and doing some crazy handshake only two idiots would be able to pull off.

"What are you doing here?! Did you get in trouble!?" Naruto asked a bit excited.

"What did you do, train too hard?" Sasuke asked mockingly.

"Yes! Professor Guy had warned me, but I wanted to be as passionate about Quidditch as he and so he admired it but gave me detention with professor Asuna." Lee didn't seem to have taken any offense. He talked to Naruto about how he got detention before the two started about Quidditch.

"Jealous of him too?" Suigetsu whispered, getting a glare from Sasuke.

"Enough talking," Asuna said, "Headmaster Hashirama has given you detention and it was your bad luck I could use some extra people to figure out why the animal in the forest have been acting oddly."

"You mean the forbidden forest….The forest forbidden for students." Karin said, she couldn't believe her ears and muttered how her mother will hear about this.

"Nothing will happen to you as long as you listen to me." Asuna said confident as he took the lead and walking ahead of the group, "But keep a grip around your wand to be sure." He added with a smirk on his face.

Karin gave Sasuke a look of disbelieve and they followed the Care of Magical Creature professor inside the forest. At first it seemed like an ordinary one, not scary at all. However, the deeper they went the more the path became unclear, the trees came closer and at some point nobody was sure if the sun had set or if the trees were blocking the light. Sakura casted a lumos charm, getting praise from Asuna for her quick thinking, urging the others to do so well.

Asuna came to a sudden stop and kneeled down, looking at a pile of silver blood. He stirred his finger in it and examined it up close. "It is odd we haven't encounter any creature yet."

"Perhaps they are fled for something," Lee voiced his thought.

"Where would powerful creatures like unicorns be scared of?" Sakura asked, looking worried.

"More powerful creatures." Karin said determined, almost a dark tone in her voice.

"Like what?" Sakura asked.

"Dark wizards perhaps." Asuna said seriously.

"I don't know professor," Naruto pointed at the direction of the castle, "Dementors have a dark presence around them, animals tend to run away from it. Magical or non-magical. It is instinct, believe me."

"Very observing, Naruto." Asuna said pleased at his star student. Naruto was not a book smart kind of wizard, but when it came down to magical creatures he knew them better than any book had described them.

"Yes, this situation is very peculiar," Asuna said. "Let's brench out, cover more ground and come back in half an hour to this spot."

"You got to be kidding me!" Karin raised her voice, "It is dark, there are dangerous creatures here and dementors around the castle! I am not going anywhere without a trained wizard!" She wrapped her arms around Asuna's left arm.

"Very well then…" Asuna sighed, "Who else wants to stay with me?"

Sasuke was tempted for a second to put his hand up, but decided against it when he looked over at Naruto who seemed to be completely in his zone. There was not a trace of fear on his face and he didn't want to fall behind him.

Suigetsu put his arm up, causing Asuna to sigh loudly.

"Coward." Sasuke whispered towards Suigetsu.

"I am just not an idiot."

"Very well then." Asuna said, " Sakura, Sasuke. You two go and keep in the western path. Lee and Naruto go east. Meet back here in half an hour. If you are in any danger, you fire red firework in the sky and I will find you right away. Understood?"

"Yes." The four students said as they headed to their assigned ways.

The path Sasuke and Sakura were assigned was barely visible or broken in. It seemed nobody had walked there in ages. Sasuke was very quiet, he didn't want to talk to Sakure, he didn't particularly like her. She was trying to strike up a conversation a couple of times, but all attempts were ignored by Sasuke. He pretended not to hear her several times. She might think he is deaf, perhaps that is why she kept talking louder and louder. Sasuke stopped walking when he pointed the light of his wand at the floor, seeing a line of spiders walking.

"What is it?" Sakura looked over Sasuke's shoulder, holding his arm to Sasuke's great displeasure.

"That is odd behaviour of spiders." She noted, "They're marching like ants."

"They're not spiders." Sasuke walked ahead, jerking his shoulder away from her, "They are Acromantulas."

"Oh. Do they typically behave like ants?" Sakura asked, it seemed she was trying her best to keep the conversation going.

"I don't know." Sasuke said.

"I thought you might know, since you knew they were-"

Sasuke suddenly came to a full stop, hearing a distant voice talking.

" _Hunger…Must….Kill…"_

Sasuke froze and pointed his wand between the trees where the sound was coming from.

"Shut up!" Sasuke hissed towards Sakura, causing her to freeze on the spot.

"Something is out there…" Sasuke whispered.

"Professor Asuna said we were not to strange off from the path," Sakura repeated. "We should head back and tell him. Not wonder around on our own, we will only put ourselves in danger."

" _Must…Kill…"_ The voice repeated itself.

What Sakura said was the logical choice, Sasuke knew that much.

"I'm going to check it out. Stay here." Sasuke headed towards the thick three, brightening his lumos charm to see clearer in the dark.

"Sasuke…Sasuke!" Sakura hissed, and quickly followed. "We shouldn't separate, it is only more dangerous that way!" She hissed.

"Nobody told you to follow me." Sasuke hissed back, hearing the voice again and again. It was getting louder, he knew he was getting closer and then….It disappeared. Silence filled the forest.

"Sasuke-"

"Stay quiet." Sasuke hissed as he tried his best to listen if he could hear the voice again.

" _Fresh meat…"_

"Did you hear that?" Sasuke asked.

"No…" Sakura said unsure.

"It was right here….The voice…" Sasuke looked at a specific direction, pointing his wand towards it.

"I don't hear anything…Sasuke let's head back. What if it is really a dark wizard." Sakura said.

" _KILL_!"

A snake, at least six meters tall and at thick as Sasuke's middle shot out of the dark and bit down on Sasuke's hand, causing the Uchiha to drop his wand and fall down on the floor.

"Depulso!" Sakura shouted, a light beam hit the snake, causing it to shoot away from Sasuke. The Uchiha fall down on his knees, holding his injured arm close to him. It was burning badly, but he had no time to think of about the pain. His eyes turned red and he looked at the ground for his wand. The snake slithered quickly past him, going for Sakura. The Ravenclaw screamed aiming her wand at the sky to send a distress signal, but she didn't get to change. She tripped over a branch and hit the ground, her wand fell from her hand while the snake came closer. She screamed when it quickly wrapped itself around her leg, moving up to bite her down her neck.

" _DON'T HURT HER_!" Sasuke shouted and to his surprise the snake froze in its spot. It hovered over Sakura, as if it wasn't sure he wanted to bite down its venomous teeth in her or if he shouldn't. Sasuke got up from the dirty ground.

" _So…Hungry_ …" Sasuke heard the snake speak. It was the snake he had heard talking between the threes.

" _Don't eat her…Get away from her."_ Sasuke said, panting heavily.

The snake backed off and slithered away from Sakura. It looked annoyed, angry…But it listened.

" _You can understand me? Can't you?"_ Sasuke asked as he looked over his shoulder at the creature.

" _You said you were hungry and yet….you listened to me when I asked you not to hurt her….Why?"_

 _"You demanded it."_ The snake said bitterly.

 _"Why listen?"_ Sasuke asked the snake didn't say anything at first when it slithered away _, "Answer me!"_ He shouted turning towards the creature.

" _Because wizards that speak to my kind, behold the power to command my kind."_

Sasuke frowned as the snake slithered away, he looked back at Sakura who looked at him in fear.

"Are you alright?"

"Stay away from me!" Sakura shouted before grabbing her wand and pointing it at Sasuke.

"I saved you from being eaten alive!" Sasuke raised his voice.

"Did you? It seemed like you were asking it to kill me!"

"You heard me tell him to not hurt you!"

"I heard you speak parselmouth!" Sakura shouted.

Sasuke was about to say something back, but Naruto's words popped in his mind. About the Gaunt Family, Salazar Slytherin and the dark lord that had gone missing. The snake was the symbol of their clan; parselmouth was the mark of a dark wizards; a mark of the Gaunt family.

But he was an Uchiha, he had the sharingan. The rare bloodline trade of the wizarding clan. Sasuke knew he was an Uchiha…But how could he talk to snakes then?

"I said…He shouldn't hurt you…" Sasuke said, putting pressure on the bite wound that was now dripping blood on the ground.

"Why should I believe you." Sakura asked, her green eyes looking determined towards Sasuke's red ones.

"Why would I want you dead?" Sasuke frowned, "you mean nothing to me."

"Because I am muggleborn!" She said, "And you hated me ever since you knew!"

Sasuke looked confused at her words.

"You glared at me during the Quidditch World Cup, you gave me these hating looks when I pass you. You have been glaring and undermining me ever since we entered the forest. You hate me because I am muggle born! Salazar Slytherin didn't want muggleborns in the school, you feel I am unworthy of learning magic!"

"The fuck Sakura, I don't give a shit that you are muggle born!" Sasuke shouted, "I don't give a shit about what you are and who you are. I hate you because you are loud; I hate you because you are annoying and frankly I hate you because you are constantly flirting with Naruto!" The Uchiha snapped.

"What…." Sakura lowered her wand slowly.

"Yeah! Are you happy now?" Sasuke picked up his wand from the ground and put it away in his cloak. "I don't give a rat's ass about your blood status. I live in the muggle world, my foster father is a muggle. I told you this at the Uzumaki mansion. I thought Ravenclaws were supposed to be smart."

"…You like Naruto?" Sakura asked, like she ignored everything else Sasuke had said before that, "You were jealous of me for hanging out with Naruto?"

"I wonder if I can call the snake back to finish the job…" Sasuke muttered, passing Sakura to get back to the main path.

"Sasuke, you're gay?" Sakura asked, walking behind him, holding her wand out for additional light. "I didn't know that….I wish I knew that. I didn't know you liked Naruto. Like…Like like."

Sasuke continued walking, trying to ignore Sakura. He already got regrets for his outburst, but not for the friendly reason.

"You've nothing to worry about. Especially not me, Sasuke….Sasuke!" Sakura said, causing Sasuke to turn around.

"Why?" Sasuke asked.

"Because I don't like Naruto." Sakura said.

"I didn't either. He grows on you like seven-up or….Pepsi."

"No, I don't like Naruto….Because I already like somebody else."

"Is this turning into a love confession?" Sasuke asked, glaring at Sakura.

"Not in your wildest dream." Sakura said so quickly it made Sasuke actually crack a smile. "I like…Somebody else….I…I like a girl."

Sasuke sat down a cut tree trunk, looking at Sakura.

"Continue." He said. Sakura turned red.

"The rest is none of your business!" She raised her voice, "Naruto knows….He has been supporting me. I haven't told anybody…Not even her…"

"It is Ino, isn't it?" Sasuke asked, seeing Sakura's eyes widened.

"How did you know?"

"Because if you were to tell somebody about your crush it would probably be your closest friend…You're always glued to Ino. So, if you went to Naruto, it meant you couldn't go to her about it, and there was only one reason why you couldn't go to her….Because she is the one you have a crush on."

"How are you not in Ravenclaw?" she muttered to herself. "Do you hate me less now? I didn't know Hogwarts was going to be a real life Mean Girls." Sakura chuckled at her own joke before looking over at Sasuke.

"You're injured…" She said, kneeling in front of the tree trunk and carefully taking Sasuke's wounded wrist. She took her wand and a green glow appeared from the top, healing the bite.

"You think the fangs were venomous?" Sasuke asked, looking surprised on how good she was at healing magic.

"No, Professor Tsunade said magical snakes have one of the fastest working potions, very dangerous, very difficult…But you die in matter of seconds and you are very much alive. So…I don't think it is a dangerous bite, bit you should let professor Asuna check it out when we head back." Sakura said.

"I rather keep the snake thing between us…" Sasuke said in a soft voice, causing Sakura to look up.

"I'm already the decedent of Madara, the younger brother of Itachi and the last Uchiha…I don't want to be known as a pureblood extremist or a muggle hater just because I can talk to snakes." Sasuke sighed.

"Don't you want to know how you got the ability? There must be some Gaunt blood mixed in you…It is either that or you are secretly the darkest wizards of them all." Sakure chuckled when she saw Sasuke glare at her.

"I won't say a thing, but Sasuke…I'm here if you want to talk about it. Maybe we can figure it out together."

"If it is one thing I figured out since I came in the wizarding world is that you never should look for answers. It is best to avoid them." Sasuke whispered, thinking of his encounter with Itachi.

"I won't say a word….I promise." Sakura gave an encouraging nod.


End file.
